


5 Times Tony and Peter were the Perfect Father Son  Duo

by Lansfics7



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: "Kidnapped" Peter Parker, (but don't sue me), 5 Times, After writing this, Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Attacks, Avengers - Freeform, Avengers Family, Bashing Team Cap, Broken Bones, Cold, Concussions, EVERYTHING YOU WANT, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explosions, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Good Peter, How Do I Tag, Hurt, Hurt Peter, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I promise, I'm an AWFUL person, I'm broke, Irondad, LITERALLY, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Psychological Torture, Rescue, Sassy Peter, Scream into pillow, Stubborn Peter Parker, Tied up Peter Parker, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Torture, Whump, a lot of it, collapsing buildings, it's fine, its in here, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-13 14:08:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20583755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lansfics7/pseuds/Lansfics7
Summary: I did a 5 times story a while ago and it BLEW UP! Sooooo, I'm gonna do that again XD.Enjoy 5 new stories, on totally different prompts, all based off of things I wanted to see, or thought up etc. Irondad, angst, bashing Team Cap, spiderson- you name it, it's in here. Please share this!Enjoy! <3





	1. White Snow Turning Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of civil war, Tony is left on Siberia alone, with a dead suit, and no backup. He's bleeding out and exhausted, and his heater isn't working. What happens and who comes to the rescue because we never got a chance to find out what happened in the movie????  
If y'all read my past 5 times story, I mentioned Peter was involved with the rescue. This is diving deeper into exactly what happened but I will change it a bit to fit with the direction I'm planning to take.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sleep deprived, I drank 2 cups of coffee, did a little bit of my math homework, screamed in my pillow to cure my writers block and forced myself back into my marvel writing without getting depressed about the whole spiderman Sony Disney thing. Wow that wasn't good English XD, I hope the fic is better. AnYwHoOo... this is the result of that craziness, I hope you like it!

"He's my friend," Steve gulps out, as if that excuses him for his actions, as if that makes everything ok, as if that will make Tony magically understand that keeping the cause of his parent's death a secret the right call, as if it will be something they'll laugh about someday. As if that will fix the chasm that is continuing to drag each other further apart. 

The amount of hurt that those 3 words cause Tony is unbearable and for once he can't laugh to hide his pain. Steve will never know that saying that hurt more than any punch Tony had taken in the last couple minutes, more pain than actually realizing the man that killed his mom was standing in front of him. 

Tony instead grits his teeth, wishing that his helmet was see-through so that Steve could see the devastated look in his eyes. He'll have to settle for making sure Steve hears the unavoidable crack in his voice as Tony speaks quietly, "So was I."

Anger heats up in his chest and he punches Steve and throws him back into the columns with as much strength as he can. Steve bounces off one and lands hard on his stomach. He shakily gets to his hands and knees, groaning and Tony feels a twinge of remorse that quickly disappears. He raises his arm. "Stand down. Final warning."

Steve spits out blood, staggering to the wall he had been thrown against and pulls himself up to his feet, his face bloodied and bruised, but the super solider is still on his feet. He raises his fists and faces Tony, staring him down, "I can do this all day."

Tony snarls and raises his palm, ready to fire when out of the corner of his eye, he sees Bucky grab his leg. Tony kicks him straight in the face, praising himself for his instinct before he realizes that was just a diversion. Steve's arms grab him by the waist and lift him over his head and Tony flails, trying to activate his boosters, FRIDAY shouting warnings in his helmet. Steve slams Tony down, his head smacking hard into the columns. Tony, dazed and in pain, lays there for a split second, trying to regain his bearings and clear the dizziness but Steve leaps and straddles him, batting Tony's arm away before he starts punching. One, two, three- Tony can't defend himself.

Tony is disoriented from the hits, pain flaring across his head and face as each of Cap's hits make contact. And right then, there's an unsettling feeling in Tony's chest. He realizes his downfall. This whole time, Tony had never intended to kill Steve, much less hurt him. He had had multiple occasions where he could have blasted him with a force of a machine gun but didn't. He held back. But now-

-look where that got him. He realizes through the pain, that Steve wasn't holding back. Steve wasn't going easy. These are not punches to just wound...they're punches to kill. Steve was going to kill him.

Steve suddenly grabs his shield with agility that comes from pure adrenaline and blind rage, grabbing it with both hands and slamming it down on Tony's head. A normal person would have been killed on impact, that's how much force Steve used. He hits him again, once, twice, then Steve reaches, and seeing a chink on Tony's armor, rips off his helmet with rigorous anger. 

Tony looks up at Steve in fear, not recognizing the blue eyes staring back at him, Cap's gaze cold and unfamiliar, full of hate and haze, a glaze over them that scared Tony to the core. His eyes are almost black they are so angry. 

Steve lifts the shield with gritted teeth, blood dripping down his face and Tony brings both arms up to cover his head, fear racing through his veins. The shield comes down and Tony closes his eyes. 

I'm sorry Pepper.

I'm sorry Peter. 

I'm sorry Rhodes. 

Mom...

Dad...

_SHINK_

Tony opens his eyes with a cry of pain, horrified, choking on his own blood, trying to breathe. There is a searing pain in his chest and Tony sees the faint arc reactor flicker, the edge of Cap's shield buried through the suit, even slicing into his chest. Steve is gritting his teeth but suddenly that scary look he had in his eyes disappears, his expression slackening. He and Tony lock eyes and he slides off of Tony's chest, slumping to the ground, breathing hard. Tony is glaring at him with hate, fear, and pain, unable to move. 

He can barely hear hits heartbeat, white spots threatening to swallow up his vision but somehow Tony keeps breathing raspy breaths every 20 seconds, each one lathered with blood and causing immense pain. He gulps down air, trying to get up and failing.

The shield remains where it is, standing straight upright in the center of his suit, pressing harder into his chest with a nauseating crunch at every attempt to move. Steve grabs the edge of it, missing Tony's pleading look that asks him to just end it; he's had enough. Instead Cap grabs and twists and Tony arches his back as more pain fills him, the arc reactor snapping and going dark and Steve forcefully pries out his shield. 

Tony gains enough energy to get up and roll painfully onto his side but the minute he does he coughs up blood, the elbow against the ground trembling in effort to keep him upright. His worst enemy turns away and limps to his best friend. Cap offers a hand and helps up Bucky, who's bleeding but still conscious, letting the Winter Solider wrap his good arm around his neck and lean against his side, holding him up.

Cap hefts the shield with his other hand and Tony's mouth fills with bile and hate for that awful piece of metal.

"That shield doesn't belong to you!" he seethes, anger tackling his pain at the moment. "You don't deserve it."

Steve takes two steps and then stops. "My father made that shield," Tony screams after him. _And you're holding up his murderer. _

Cap doesn't speak.

He doesn't turn around.

There's silence.

Then Steve lifts his chin, unstraps the shield with one hand, and lets it drop without hesitation. After all that- _after all that- _Cap agrees with him. It hits the concrete ground with a loud bang that echoes in Tony's ears, the metal sending whiffs of snow and dust twirling into the air that's clouded with resentment and burning bridges. After all that, Cap knows he's wrong. 

Tony watches Steve and Bucky walk out. He waits until he can't see or hear them anymore, his eyes burning into the spot where Cap's back dissapeared behind the corner. Tony was filled with anger and pain, shaking from both. His breathing wasn't getting any better, still gulping down air every 15 seconds when he could, his vision blurry, pain screaming through every single part of his body.

Tony finally allowed himself to slump to the side, collapsing onto his back, his elbow giving out thankfully. He coughs and blood trickles down the side of his cheek. Tony winces and moves his arm to grab his helmet that is lying, half shattered to the right of his head from where Cap ripped it off. With a cry of pain he lifts his head, alarm bells going off, his ears ringing, and pain, enough to almost knock him unconscious, flares up in his neck. Tony reaches to press gently against the back of his skull and feels the massive gash his fingers coming away sticky with blood. He tries not to panic. Tony looks down, groaning and notices his arc reactor is pitch black, not even flickering anymore; half of it shattered completely. 

He shoves his helmet on with effort, again almost collapsing unconscious at the pain in his head. 

"FRI-" Tony mumbles. "FRIDAY..."

Nothing. Tony's met for silence for once. The helmet's blank and he wrenches it off.

Tony lets out a sluggish curse and forces himself to stay awake, feeling one hot tear drip down the side of his cheek from the amount of pain he's in. He chokes on his next breath, kick starting a coughing fit in which he's almost convinced he's about to die, unable to get a good breath in for about 2 minutes. When he finally does, it's not in relief as he stares down at the blood that's splattered along the stone from what he's coughed up.

Tony grits his teeth and seethes, pushing himself up into a sitting position against one of the columns. Think Tony, think...

He had nothing.

Tony was sitting in a dead suit. 

He was almost dead. 

His parents were dead. 

Tony didn't know what to do. He lay there, shivering from the cold that was creeping in, the wind blowing harshly, the snow already falling around him in piles. His breath clouded in front of his mouth and snowflakes landed on his bloodied face. Tony was shaking hard, unable to move from his position, numb and bleeding out, unable to check on his injuries, unable to stand or even move from his position. The freezing wind blasted inside the room, the gaps between the columns making him an even easier target for the cold air. 

Tony's lips turned blue. He stopped shaking. His eyes were almost frozen shut. 

He flinched as he felt the shield sink into his chest again. He flinched as he saw the look in Cap's eyes that he had never seen before. He did not know the man that had been in front of him, the man that no doubt would have killed him if Tony had fought back maybe a little more. 

Tony would have died for Steve some time ago. It hurt more than anything else in the world to know that the person he would have gladly taken a bullet for, was the one behind the gun. 

A hot tear slipped down his cheek, the warmth burning his skin. Tony's fingers twitched and his head tried to sink to his chest. 

Pepper...

Peter...

Rhodey...

What does he do? What can he do? Tony lifts a trembling arm and feels around in the chest of his suit. He pries open a section of the metal with bleeding, ice cold fingertips, coughing up blood that splatters out with a mixture of clouded breath. A small item falls out of the secret compartment and Tony holds it gently in his trembling hand, barely able to hold it up to his eye level. 

Blinking back tears and narrowing his eyes in concentration, Tony brings his fingers together and presses hard on the center of the tiny metal spider before he collapses onto his side, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head. 

_Peter..._

Peter rolled over in his bed in Queens, his first night back home and he can't sleep. He breaths out a loud sigh, wincing at the pain in his ribs. He put a hand gingerly over his side and took a shaky inhale before he squeezed his eyes shut and forced the pain away. He pulled the covers up tight to his chin and suddenly shivered without knowing why. Peter knit his brow, suddenly very cold and he forced himself to leave the comfort of his semi-warm bed in order to grab one of Mr. Stark's Internship sweatshirts he had been given, knowing it would benefit him in the end. 

Peter set both feet on the ground, still shivering, recognizing the fact that he was a hot a second ago in confusion before he crosses the room, his toes digging into the carpet. He crosses the room and shoves the sweatshirt over his head. He turns around to head back to his bed before he freezes. 

He closes his eyes and focuses, his ears straining to hear. Peter turns toward the very faint beeping sound he hears coming from his closet. Cautiously, Peter straightens his sweatshirt and creeps over to the door, yanking it open on an internal count of 3 and looking for the noise. Peter frowns when he realizes it's coming from his suit. Peter takes the onesie- did he really just call it that- off it's hanger and inspects it, putting the fabric up to his ear. He pinpoints the sound and pulls the suit back to arms length before setting it down on his bed and grabbing the screwdriver kit he had in his bag. 

The spider in the center was blinking, letting off that slight beep that was getting more rapid as time passed. Peter slipped the smallest tipped screwdriver edge he had under the black gadget and pried it off.

"Woah," Peter breathed, "What the-"

He picks up a smaller metal spider that was held in place by 2 clasps. He feels around it, finding a button in the center and he presses it, waiting to see what happens. 

Nothing happens. The beeping and blinking just stop. Well that wasn't very exciting. 

Peter grumbles, "That's useless," and he is about to toss the small spider onto the bed when he hears a small cough, too quiet to be from inside the room. 

Peter jumps, on full alert, the hairs on his arm sticking up straight. Another cough, louder when Peter brings the small piece to his ear, but it doesn't just cut off there. This time it's joined with a slight murmur of a 1 syllable word that Peter recognizes as, "_Pete-"_

Peter had known _of_ him his whole life. He had just met him a couple weeks ago though, but from their small banter and the fact that he had given Peter his very own suit, Peter had already felt a bond with the man. Especially after the genius had dropped everything to come to his side and bench him- getting benched by Iron Man?- that was insane.

It had been a while since Peter had had someone in his life, besides May, who cared about him and loved him. The fear in the man's eyes as he fell to his knees by Peter's side, the gentleness but firmness as he grabbed Peter's wrists and calmed him down, and the way he breathed a sigh of relief when Peter woke up from being unconscious...it scared Peter at how quickly he was allowing himself to get wrapped up in this perfect fantasy of having a father-like mentor in his life _for the rest of his life_. Peter hasn't considered the possibility that Tony wouldn't want him to stick around, that he had called him because he needed help, not a hyperactive mentee to have tagging along behind him.

But as Peter collected his thoughts, he was sure he knew that man;s voice anywhere, even when it was scratchy, breaking up, and filled with pain. Peter's chest filled with a sense of protectiveness and he stood straight, whispering, "Mr. Stark?"

_"Pete," _Tony's voice was filled with relief, but broken, using a tone that Peter had never heard before, a tone that he didn't think someone like Tony Stark was capable of. 

"Mr. Stark what's wrong? Are you ok? Where are you?" Peter asked urgently. 

_"Siberia- Pete get Pepper- tell her- say 12%- hurry-"_

"Siberia, what the heck are-" Peter questioned.

_"Pete-" _Tony snapped, before breaking into a coughing fit, spitting out something- oh God what if it's blood- and crying out in pain. 

"Mr. Stark!" Peter cried, panicking, pacing in his room. 

_"Pete hurry- Pepper- 12%- Siberia-"_

"I got it Mr. Stark, I'm coming, I'm coming right now, it's gonna be ok, just hang in there ok?" Peter grabs his phone and his mask and handmade web-shooters, not wanting to waste time and put on the suit. He slips into his shoes before he sprints out of his room and bursts out the front door. He shoves on his mask and web-shooters, holding the small spider in his hand and kicking open the emergency exit. Then he flings himself off the balcony, shooting a web at the nearest building and skimming the street with his sneaker. 

"Karen!" Peter yells. 

_"Peter, what are you doing up this-"_

"Listen to me!" Peter said quickly, "I need to you get in touch with FRIDAY, now. Hurry!"

Karen immediately senses something is wrong and she speaks calmly, _"Ok, ok- hold on."_

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark? Hey! Talk to me, please, it's Peter, can you hear me?" Peter screams. There's no answer, only static from the device. He screams a curse, fighting back a sob before determinedly tucking the small spider deep into his palm, swinging faster.

_"I seem to have lost connection."_ Karen's tone is nervous, despite being an A.I. _"FRIDAY is functional at the Avengers compound but there appears to be a helicopter that was launched yesterday. Tony does not appear to be in the building and the suit he took is not responding."_

Peter curses again, his brain whirling. There are tears building in his eyes and he stutters, "Call Pepper. Call Pepper Karen!"

_"Calling Pepper Potts."_

Peter swings as fast as he can through the quiet city, lit up. "Wait, where's Pepper? I need to get to her- the compound! She's at the- crap where's the compound? Crap! Karen give me a path to the compound, hack whatever you need to, I need to get there as fast as possible!"

_"On it. Tracking fastest route."_

Before Pepper can answer, Peter remembers his Aunt and bites his lip, knowing May most likely heard him running out of their apartment. 

"FRIDAY also can you make up some excuse for May?" Peter groans, his heartbeat pounding through his chest. He swings even faster, making a sharp turn down the street, thankful for his guessing skills. He's already made it about 1/3 of the way to the compound, shown by the tracking screen he's got pulled up, telling him which shortcuts to use and where to go. His muscles are screaming but Peter doesn't care. Tony is hurt, and he needs Peter's help.

_"I will send a message to her phone that is 99% believable. Calculating now. Also Mrs. Potts is connecting."_

"Thanks," Peter says breathlessly. 

_"Hello? Who is this?" _Pepper asks groggily. Peter winces, realizing it's 2 am. How was he going to possibly explain this one? Let's hope Pepper was as nice as Tony as said.

"Mrs. Pepper- Potts- ma'am, this is Peter Parker-" he stumbles over his words, off to a _great _start.

_"Who?" _Crap, she sounds annoyed. _Don't hang up, don't hang up,_ Peter pleads,time to hurry this up.

"Peter Parker, Tony's intern-"

_"It's 2 in the morning Mr. Parker-" _Pepper says thinly, as if he doesn't know that.

"No you don't understand, I'm not his intern, it's just a cover up-" Peter splutters.

_"If this is some prank young man,"_ Pepper sighs.

Screw it. "I'm Spiderman!" Peter finally screams.

There's silence on the other end and Peter takes a huge breath and decides to blurt as much as he can out, "Tony contacted me through this weird spider radio, I think he's hurt, he said he's in Siberia and to come get you and tell you 12% and I'm heading to the compound as fast as I can but I don't know what to do-"

Pepper speaks softly, alert now, cutting him off gently, _"Slow down Peter, what?"_

"Mr. Stark, he's in trouble," Peter gasps out, his mind whirling, barely able to get one thought out straight. "He radioed me, I think his suit is down and this thing is his only way of contact."

_"And what did he say?" _Her tone is laced with fear and Peter's blood runs cold.

"He told me to tel you 12%," Peter relayed. 

_"12%,"_ she breathed, _"Oh God- Tony..."_ Pepper sucks in a breath and Peter doesn't let her explain what awful thing that could mean. Instead he gives her hope.

"I think we can track the signal, but my A.I. isn't strong enough. I need FRIDAY. I'll be at the compound soon, I just-" Peter's voice breaks and he misses a web in his distress, quickly righting himself, but his heartbeat is pounding out of control, his movements sloppy. Peter tries to focus and go faster but that just makes it worse. He starts panicking, the world spinning and Peter suddenly feels very high, his stomach churning, his ears ringing, his breath quickening, his muscles tensing.

He's about to have a panic attack while swinging and he finally let's out a whimper, embarrassed a second after he cries, "I don't know what to do Mrs. Potts!"

_"Breathe. Kid, breathe, you've got to stay focused. Calm down, it's going to be ok, just please, Peter get here as fast as you can. I'm getting a jet ready and we'll go and find him as soon as you get here. It's gonna be ok. I'll be waiting for you. Do you know how to access FRIDAY's tracking system?"_

"Y-yes," Peter stuttered, "yes, I think so."

_"Ok, then hurry. You're doing fine kid, just focus on getting here,"_ Pepper said, her voice calm and comforting. 

Peter gulped down a sob, "Ok. Ok, yeah."

_"Can you still reach him?"_ she asked quietly.

"No, it cut off. But I know I can still access the tracker," Peter assures himself.

_"Ok well keep trying. Hurry Peter."_

"Yes ma'am," Peter said firmly, biting his lip and waiting until the call ended to exhale a breath.

Tony was so cold. He had managed to drag himself in front of a column, so that the wind wasn't that bad. The snow was blowing in still, but at least it wasn't hitting him. Tony was shivering, barely able to breathe, his breath coming out in small puffs of white air that dissapeared as soon as they appeared due to the fact that it was no longer hot air. Tony was going to freeze to death. 

Blood was leaking out of his suit, and pain had been numbed by both severity and the freeing temperatures. The suit was still useless, acting only as a metal coffin that was going to give him frostbite, but was better than just laying on the cold ground in a long sleeve shirt and jeans. FRIDAY was down, the arc reactor was shattered, rendering the entire suit immobile. 

It had been 2 hours since he talked to Peter on the spider transmitter. It was a miracle it actually worked. Tony had put that in there for emergencies...meaning when the kid got into trouble, or screwed up. He never meant for it to be both ways. A year ago, Tony would have just given up. But knowing Peter had heard him and hearing the worry and determination in the kid's voice...

Peter knew where he was, and that gave him hope. That kid wouldn't stop until he got to him. He was gonna get out of here...alive. 

Pepper sped down the road as fast as she could, cutting the corners and driving through the grass. She heard the shouting even 20 yards away. 

"Please, I need to get in! You don't understand! Tony Stark needs my help-"

"Yeah sure kid. Back away from the gate please."

"No!" the kid yelled, shoving the 2 guards that were trying to restrain him off with incredible force, "Please, I'm an intern, I work for Tony-"

Pepper undid her seat belt and hurriedly stepped out of the car yelling, "Let him go! That's enough!"

The young boy looked like he had taken out one of the guards already and was fighting with the other two desperately, dressed in PJ's and a spider man mask, something in his fist. Pepper didn't blame the guards for not letting him through but this had to be the famous Peter Parker Tony had been telling her about. She recognized his voice from the phone and when he saw her he raised his fist urgently, something gleaming in his palm. Pepper walked forward furiously. Peter needed to get inside. Now.

"I said that's enough!" she screamed, storming over to the gate and pressing her key to open it herself, grabbing the front of Peter's hoodie and pulling him toward her by the shoulder and away from the security guards. 

Peter thankfully stumbled into her half embrace, staggering a bit, before he tripped and pitched forward, gasping for breath. Pepper catches him and eases him into the backseat, murmuring words of encouragement to a boy she's never met. But this was a boy who was willing to sprint to the Avengers Compound from Queens- as FRIDAY had told her in less than 15 minutes, which wasn't even possible for a car. She had heard the way Tony talked about him, how he spoke of him as like a son more than a mentee. She had heard the desperation and the worry in the kid's voice when he called. This was a kid Tony would protect with his life, and a kid who seemed to be willing to do the same for Tony, so she would complete the trust triangle. 

Pepper made sure he was safe in the backseat before she slid in the front, turning it on automatic drive as the car spun into reverse and sped back to the compound. She turned around just as Peter took off his mask, breathing hard. 

Pepper recoiled, shocked. He didn't even look 16. Spiderman, the one whom Tony had recruited to fight Captain Steve Rogers and the Avengers, was a high schooler from Queens, New York. But the haunting pain in his bloodshot eyes and the rapid rise and fall of his chest, his hands wringing with worry, his fingernails digging into his palms so hard she was afraid they would bleed...that was no common qualities of a teenager. 

She realized his gaze was unfocused and he was shaking and she hurriedly placed a hand on his knee. "Peter? Peter!" she snapped him out of his trance.

"Yes ma-am?" he stuttered, looking at her with some sort of fear, gulping down his next breath. 

"Pepper," she corrected gently and he nodded vigorously. She let him take a deep breath and then spoke quickly but firmly. "Peter, you're here. You're ok. We need to find Tony now, ok?"

Peter nodded again.

"FRIDAY's connected to this car so do your thing," Pepper encouraged him slowly, cursing herself for putting even more weight on that teenagers shoulders. 

"Yeah, yeah, FRIDAY- it's Peter, connect to Karen, she just finished the scan of the tracking device. Can you access the files of the helicopter Tony took, and the last location of the suit he used?" Peter said, the boy becoming more focused with every word he said.

_"Scanning Karen's data. Do you authorize this scan?"_

"Yes authorize, hurry FRIDAY, skip further authorizations from this point on. Just keep going."

_"Understood."_

He pulled out the computer that was tucked underneath the seat, Pepper pressing her lips together in amusement that he knew it was there. Add that to his ease with Tony's A.I.? It was clear the kid had been here more than once before their Germany field trip.

_"I have his helicopter records but the log that fits the time description that Karen has listed does not match."_

"Mr. Stark, you idiot," Peter mumbled under his breath. "He deleted his search history. He didn't want us to find him...something must have gone wrong."

Pepper raised her eyebrows and suppressed a smile at the first sentence, trying not to laugh, but her heart ached when she heard the desperate fear and worry in the teen's voice as he continued. The kid seemed to have forgotten Pepper was even in the car, running a hand through his messy brown hair that stuck up from his bed head, biting his lip so hard she thought it would bleed.

"Run the scan on a global scale Friday, pinpointing my general location. I hacked into Tony's file and it says he set course to an abandoned HYDRA base camp. It's somewhere in Siberia so set your scan to tracer level 3. Set the scanners to pick up any heat scan you can and relay that information back into Karen."

_"Scanning. Give me a second Peter,"_ FRIDAY said, also clearly familiar with this genius intern Tony had found. 

"Ok you got it?"

_"Location found. Weak heat source. Transferring coordinates to assigned jet."_

"Can you tell me what condition he's in? Is he hurt? Is he ok?" Peter asked urgently. Pepper was wondering the same thing and they both waited in worried anticipation for the A.I.'s response. 

_"His suit appears to be down. I can't read vitals. I'm sorry."_

Peter and Pepper both cursed, Peter looking up like his hand had just been caught in the cookie jar. Pepper gave him a reassuring smile. 

"Well he's alive. We have the coordinates. Let's go," Pepper said, typing in the correct landing pad into the destination bar in the touchscreen on the front of the car. 

"Yeah," Peter breathed, sinking into his seat, exhausted. 

"You did a good job kid," Pepper smiled, looking backward at him as she regained control of the wheel and sped 20 over the speed limit. 

"Thanks," Peter said softly, leaning against the window. 

How...long...had it been?

Tony wasn't even shaking anymore. It was so cold the metal suit enclosing him in a freeing prison was burning him. The snow was turning red from his blood, Tony coughing up more and more, the pain from just the spasm in his chest nearly knocking him unconscious each time. His heartbeat was slowing, even without FRIDAY telling him so, Tony knew it. 

Was he going to die here? Would Peter get here in time?

The wind blew loudly at the corners of his ears, a high pitch whistle not helping the ringing in his head. He couldn't see straight, his vision blurry. He would try to breathe and it felt like his lungs were collapsing in on him, curling up on themselves and folding, preventing him from taking actual breaths. He was slumped against the pillar, feeling his cuts and bruises from within the mask, feeling the gravel crushing into the cut on the back of his skull, feeling blood seeping onto the ground. 

He watched it as it would turn the white snow red. 

Then there came a time where watching it became harder, more of a challenge. His eyelids would close every couple seconds, but Tony would force himself awake, telling himself, just this last time, then you can close them. 

Just 

this

last

time

...

"MSTRK!"

Tony could only feel pain. He was so tired. So cold. He has stopped shivering. It was no longer hot, nor cold. 

"MSTRK!"

One last time, he pleaded with himself. Don't give up. Not yet. 

"MRSTRK!"

Tony opened his eyes, letting out a painful gasp. 

"MR. STARK!"

Tony looked up, raising his head with difficulty, and caught sight of a teenager stumbling in through the rubble, the wall shifting from where he had bust through with his super strength. The boy whirled, one hand gripping his messy brown curls, a bedhead. He was dressed in a Stark Industries sweatshirt- Tony had given him that, and matching flannel PJ's. His spiderman mask was clutched with one hand but he was too busy spinning in a circle, his voice cracking in desperation and worry. 

Tony grinned at that and then took a deep breath. 

"About...time...underoos," he whispered, being choked by blood and coughs. 

It was way to quiet for Peter to hear. Any other person would have turned around in sadness and walked away but Tony knew he would hear it. And Peter did, snapping in his direction immediately, perking up.

"TONY!" he screamed. It was the first time he hadn't called him Mr. Stark, as Peter's desperate gaze fell on Tony and he immediately sprinted, hoping over the rubble of the battlefield in haste to get to his side. 

"Mr. Stark!" his voice became more clear, jolting Tony even more awake. 

"Oh God," the kid muttered, sliding to his knees by his side. His hands hovered over Tony's suit, as if he's unsure if he was going to shatter if Peter touched him. Finally he made up his mind and cupped Tony's cheeks with his warm hands, lifting his head gently and locking his concerned gaze with him.

"Mr. Stark?" he whimpered softly, his eyes wide.

"Hey kid," Tony grinned, getting enough energy to lift his arm and ruffle the boy's hair. He looked down at a piece of familiar tech, hooked through the flannel.

"You taking my stuff?" he teased.

"No," Peter blushed, "Pepper made me-"

"Pepper," Tony perked up.

Peter raised an eyebrow, "You think she'd stay home and wait?"

Tony tried to laugh and instead coughed up blood, his chest exploding with pain. He couldn't hold back his cry of agony and Peter cussed, trying to support him as he doubled over. When Tony could finally breathe again he looked back at Peter who was absolutely terrified, clutching at Tony like he was going to lose him again. 

"Watch your mouth," Tony teased weakly, closing his eyes and swallowing painfully. 

"Shut up," Peter said simply, missing Tony's famous eyebrow raise at his spunk. 

Instead, Peter breathed a sigh of relief, and he moved his hands to grasp the sides of Tony's suit as he started to slide down the column. Peter held him up, looking at Tony with such fear and worry that Tony wanted to just wrap his arms around this kid and hold him. 

Peter's voice broke, "We thought you were..."

Tony joked, "Thought I was what, dead? Sorry kid, gonna have to take more than that to kill me."

Then Peter's expression darkened. A look came over his face that Tony had never seen before. His gaze flickered over Tony's visible injuries, and the blood that was making a trail of blood in the snow. The kid reached forward to touch the massive jagged hole in his chest, his fingers trembling in anger. That's what it was. It was pure, blind, white hot rage. Tony caught his hand before he could touch the massive hole in his chest and Peter's head snapped up with such fury that Tony flinched. 

"I'm good kid," he lied. Then he made a face, "a little chilly, but ok."

"Yeah about that," Peter grinned. He shoved on his mask, "Karen, send the suit."

"You really are a genius," Tony breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that he was going to be warm soon. 

"What can I say? I'm prepared," Peter grinned. Then he shifted his position, "Now let's get out of here."

"Pete I-" Tony faltered. _Just say it._ "I can't walk."

There was a second of silence. 

"I know," Peter said simply, surprising Tony with his repsonce, "I've got you." He slipped his hand under Tony's arm and around his back. Then he grasped Tony's hand, his good arm, pulling him upright. Tony stumbled against him and Peter caught him firmly, tucking him into a half embrace so Tony could stabilize. Tony grasped his arms, surprised by the kid's strength, and thankful for the contact. He suppressed a cry, gritting his teeth from the pain, about to black out, white spots dancing in his vision. 

"Stay with me Mr. Stark. Hey, focus on me. We're gonna get out of here," Peter said firmly, holding him tighter, not letting Tony slip even a little. "Lean on me, got it? I'm gonna get you out of here I promise."

"Yea kid, I know," Tony breathed, clutching his arm tighter around the teenager as he limped out with Peter pressed firmly against his side. 

Pepper was pacing.

And pacing.

And pacing. 

_"Pepper, trust me. I'll get him back," Peter said quietly, looking at the entrance to the building they had just touched down near. _

_"Peter, please, no. It's dangerous. Whatever happened to Tony could happen to you-"_

_"Tony's in there!" Peter said firmly, "I need to get him out!"_

_"I know!" Pepper yelled back, grabbing his shoulders, "I want him out of that awful place as much as you do, so listen to me! Spiderman or not, I'm not sending a 16 year old kid in there with no plan. Let me go with you. Or the suits we brought!"_

_Peter furiously shook his head, "No. If people are in there they can detect those. They can't detect me. And I can't let you go. Pepper please, just let me go get him. Please. I'll bring him back."_

_Pepper pursed her lips and cupped his cheek, "You'll be safe. You'll take your mask with you, and you will take Tony's self defense tech with you too. You will set a suit up to come find you at your location once you find him. No buts. You get him out there, and you get yourself out too, do you understand Peter?"_

_"Yes ma'am," Peter said bravely, nodding with gleaming eyes. _

_"Go," she smiled sadly. _

_Peter nodded and swung towards the entrance. _

That was 20 minutes ago.

10 minutes ago, FRIDAY had alerted her that a suit had been activated. It detached from the jet and flew in the same way Peter had gone in and Pepper breathed a sigh of relief, getting the jet ready and stepping outside into the snow. The storm was getting worse, the wind blowing furiously, her ears ringing from it's high pitched whistle but she stood outside the jet, her eyes fixed on that one spot, pulling her jacket tighter, with a blanket being wrung between her hands out of nervousness. 

Come on Peter. Come on kid. 

Please.

Then she saw it. A tiny bit of movement through the snow. Pepper started forward and saw Peter holding up Tony with his arm around him, holding almost all of Tony's weight as they trudged forward. 

"Tony!" she cried, sprinting forward. She ran, stumbling down the slope, into Tony's open arms as he surged forward. She caught him and hugged him, tears falling down her cheeks, muttering, "Oh thank God, thank God, Tony..."

"Hey Pepp," he said quietly. 

She wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and suddenly there were webs holding it in place. Peter was right behind them, offering her a lopsided smile, clearly exhausted, and also cold. Pepper gave a gleeful laugh and pulled him forward, planting a kiss on the top of his head. 

Peter grinned, his eyelids closing and he motioned for them to keep going, giving her a thumbs up that meant he could make it himself. 

"Come on, let's go," Pepper whispered in Tony's ear, slipping his arm over her shoulder and holding him close as he shivered and kissed her. They stumbled up the snowy slope, staggering a bit, but they made it. Peter clasped Tony's hand and arm and helped him up the ramp, Pepper making sure he didn't fall, and while she closed the ramp, Peter gently lowered Tony onto the nearest couch. 

Tony groaned in pain and breathed a sigh of relief. Peter was at his side, watching him warily, as if worried he was going to get hurt while sitting there.

"I'm not gonna explode Peter," Tony grinned, assuring him. 

Peter raised an eyebrow, "Well that's...that's good to know."

"Sit down kid, rest. You did good," Tony smiled weakly at him, his eyes closing. Pepper came and kissed him, going to go make some tea and grab them all something to eat. 

Peter took a seat on the floor, his back against the couch Tony was laying on. Then Tony felt him tense and turn. He steeled himself, knowing exactly what Peter was going to ask. Wh-

"Who?" Peter snarled simply, without even looking at Tony. 

"Pete-" Tony started weakly.

"Who?" Peter demanded, now turning around fiercely, "Who did it?" 

Tony could practically feel the wave of protective anger rolling of Peter in ripples of heat. The kid's eyes were filled with blind rage. 

"He was just protecting him," Tony said weakly, but both he and Peter knew that wasn't true, now that they were on the same page. 

Realization hit Peter like a tidal wave; the kid actually fell back onto his haunches, a shocked expression appearing on his heartbroken face. Peter scrunched up his nose and whispered, "Steve?"

Tony didn't answer, but that was answer enough. 

"I'm gonna kill him," Peter mumbled, as if he meant to say that to himself but it just came out. The kid was shaking, his hands curled into fists and he shook his head. 

"Pete-

"I'm gonna kill him-" Peter muttered again, his voice a low growl, his hands in tight fists.

"Peter-" Tony tried again. 

"No!" Peter yelled. "He hurt you. He almost killed you. He's not getting away with that. No one hurts you."

The fire in Peter's eyes made Tony look at him in shock; Peter's anger rivaled his. 

"I respected him. I looked up to him. Captain America was my childhood idol. But he's just some sick, cowardly piece of crap- that-"

"Peter, that's enough," Tony said quietly but firmly. 

Peter looked at him with misdirected anger and snarled, "He-"

"Parker!" Tony snapped. 

Peter hung his head, going silent. 

"I'm okay kid," Tony assured him. "I'm gonna be okay. I promise."

Peter was still breathing hard and Tony grabbed his shoulder firmly, locking eyes with him. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. 

Peter nodded, and gave him a weak smile, before he sank back against the couch and lay his head on the soft sofa. Tony moved his hand with the grit of his teeth, trembling with effort, to rest it on Peter's head, ruffling the kid's curls that were plastered to his forehead from the snow. The kid leaned into the touch, breathing a sigh of relief. 

"Thanks for coming kid," Tony said sincerely. 

Peter, falling asleep, gave a content hum and nod, his head falling heavy against Tony's hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im not good with endings. How did you like this length? Longer? Shorter? 4 more chapters to go!   
Please share, subscribe, comment, and leave kudos! It's greatly appreciated <3  
Love you all 3000, chapter 2 coming soon!


	2. I'll Hold You as You Shiver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm in a cold spree???? Idk why. Maybe because I'm cold right now or because winter is coming? Go drink some hot choclate or something after this XD  
So I had two ideas for this one and kind of mushed them together with a little beginning plot point paying tribute to a Star Trek scene. Basically Peter and Tony go a conference meeting up in the mountains and then everything goes wrong. When they become stranded with some people who are not so happy on their tail, Tony learns the hard way that spiders don't thermoregulate. Lots of protective Tony and Peter in this one. I wanted to spice this up. :)

**3 MONTHS LATER**

"What if I screw up?" Peter spluttered, walking backwards down the hallway as he faced Tony. When the billionaire had asked him to come to a conference meeting with him a couple days ago, Peter was squeaked a quick, yes, without really knowing what he was getting into. He was now heading to the front to get into a limo with Tony freaking Stark, posing as his intern as he had been for a little while now. 

Over the past couple months, Tony and Peter had grown closer. Peter no longer stuttered because he was talking to Tony Stark, he just stuttered because he was still getting used to the fact that he would have natural conversations with Tony Stark.

There was a difference...

He was sure.

But to be perfectly honest, Peter was in love with his perfect life. He got to go the compound at least 3 times a week, helping Tony with suits and Avengers business- even though Mr. Stark had made it perfectly clear, multiple times, that he was not part of the team...yet.

The bond between them had only grown after Siberia, and Peter felt a real solid connection between him and Tony. Of course news reporters felt it too. Rumors that Peter was his son spread like a wildfire and Tony only laughed at them, not realizing how incredible that felt to Peter. The fact that he was being rumored to be Tony's son was unreal, and he loved every minute of it- which was why he was so scared to screw it up. 

"You're not gonna screw up," Tony said back, his voice practically robotic; being the 30th time Peter had asked him if he would. 

"Yeah, but what if I do?" 

"And what if you don't?" Tony pointed out. 

Peter stopped. Frowned. "Then wupee. Yay. Not screwing up is good. That's not the point-" Peter shook his head, taking a deep breath to go into another jumble of words without stopping to breathe but Tony cut in before he could. 

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Because the point," Tony grabbed his shoulders and forced the jumpy kid to settle down, stop moving, and lock serious gazes, "is that the heir of Stark Industries is gonna go in there, and you don't even have to say a word," Tony assured him. "Just smile, nod, shake hands, and then we'll leave. It's not rocket science."

"See rocket science, I can handle- hey woah," Peter half grinned and then froze as the words processed in his head. Maybe he had heard him wrong. Peter raised an eyebrow, "heir to Stark Industries? That was a joke right?"

"Totally." Tony flashed a unconvincing grin. 

"What?" Peter's smile fell into a frown but it wasn't in disappointment, more shock. 

"Alright underoos, let's go. Show time-" Tony said, straightening Peter's tie as they made their way to the door. "You gonna be warm enough Parker?"

"Mr. Stark-"

"It's the coldest night of the year," Tony sniffed, ignoring Peter's floored expression.

"Wait, Mr. Stark- we need to talk about that like right now-"

"We'll talk about it later," Tony said through a grin as he and Peter walked outside, met by all the flashing cameras. The cold wind was blowing, messing up Peter's styled hair into it's usual curly frizziness and Peter felt a wave of snow slam into him, making his teeth chatter. He shivered and sucked in a breath. 

"L-later's good too," Peter stuttered, instinctively backing closer to Tony who put a hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

"Woah," Peter squeaked.

Tony held Peter's shoulder firmly, keeping the kid grounded to a fixed point. Peter's head was on a swivel and his heart stopped beating in his chest. There were so many flashes. The light hurt his eyes and he flinched, squinting. Tony tugged him forward gently, giving him an encouraging nod and Peter looked down at his feet an demanded them to move.

They did, slowly, and Tony moved to his side to put an arm around him and lead him faster as Peter whirled around to look at all the people shouting at him with fake smiles and massive lenses pointed right at his face. The reporters gave them some room when Tony put a hand out to part the seas, knowing after a decade of experience not to mess with the billionaire.

Peter's hands were tight at his side, clammy and sweaty. His feet stumbled. 

Heir of Stark Industries? He couldn't do that!

"Mr. Stark!" someone called out.

"Yes dear," Tony cockily turned, taking off his sunglasses.

"Just one question!" one reporter shouted, sticking his mic past Peter's face who almost fell over. Tony grinned at the cameras, answering some reporters questions with quick, snarky comments that Peter could have never thought up on the spot.

"Tony! Over here! Thoughts on-"

"How does this affect-"

"Will Stark Industries increase the amount-"

"What is the future of the company looking like-"

Whereas most everyone heard just a wave of noise, a roar and a bunch of flashes people could easily squint and not be bothered with...Peter was exactly the opposite. He heard every intake of breath, every word everyone was saying, even those in the way back, saw every individual flash that made him flinch and start shaking. He hoped Tony didn't notice. Was Tony still next to him? Peter was numb and couldn't feel Mr. Stark's arm until it tightened once more.

Tony's voice drowned out the sea of screams, "And that's enough. My mentee and I would like to get through please? Thank you."

Mr. Stark's hand tightened on Peter's shoulder and he led him through the crowd to where Happy was waiting at the end of the line, making sure all the reporters stayed behind the line. He flashed Tony one of his annoyed looks and glared once more at the crowd. Tony laughed and clapped Happy on the chest, grinning at him.

"Fun times," Tony remarked. 

Happy gave him an amused scowl and winked at Peter who was downright overwhelmed. He opened the back door and Peter slid into the far seat, Tony right behind him. 

"Have a good time kid," Happy called. The door closed behind them and they both breathed a sigh of relief the minute the noise became muffled and the tinted windows blocked out the flashes. The car drove away, leaving Happy scowling behind them. Peter turned back around from looking out the rear window and slumped in seat, grabbing his temples and groaning.

"How was that?" Tony grinned. 

"Loud. Bright. I'm tired," Peter admitted.

"Well, you passed," Tony nodded.

Peter gave him a weak smile. He didn't want to tell Tony that it almost gave him a sensory overload. With his spider senses the flashes and screams were multiplied by at least 10, and that hadn't been fun. But he was calming down now, curling his fist and pressing his nails into the palm of his hand to ground himself. He made sure Tony didn't notice. 

"We've got a 30 minute drive sir," the driver stated. 

"Thanks Fritz. Hey FRIDAY, turn on my music."

ACDC started playing with Tony's favorite, Back in Black. Peter's eyes lit up and he grinned. 

"I love Led Zeplin!"

Tony's face fell and he turned to look over at Peter who wasn't watching, just looking out the window, drumming his fingers on the side. Tony had an urge to kick the kid out of the car, but instead he just gave a small shake of his head and slight smile. 

When they pulled up, Tony got out the car first and Peter scrambled out, almost worried Tony was going to leave him. 

Tony laughed and put an arm around Peter's shoulders, "Relax kid. I'll be at your side the entire time."

"Pr-" Peter started. 

"Promise," Tony said before Peter could finish, giving him a wink. Peter took a breath and nodded, walking alongside Tony up to the building on the hill with huge glass windows and concrete painted white. They reached the door and the man next to it opened it for them. 

"Sir," he nodded at Tony.

"Thanks buddy," Tony grinned, patting him on the shoulder. As Peter passed him he looked out of the corner of his eye and watched the man's face turn from a smile into a glare as they passed. Peter's spider senses tingled and he frowned. Maybe the guard had to have a straight face like those British ones in front of the Buckingham Palace. Peter's thoughts were cut short when Tony tapped his back.

"Peter, I'd like you to meet Rob Peterson? He's the head of a company that partners with Stark Industries," Tony said as Peter shook the man's hand. "He does work for lighting in New York. Half the city's electricity his run by him."

Mr. Peterson grinned at Peter, "First conference? I can tell."

Peter gulped. So much for acting confident.

"Don't freak him out too much Rob. He's younger than he looks," Tony said, seeing the change in Peter's expression.

"Understandable. But hey, let me let you in on a little secret kid. It's no Candyland. Just a bunch of men and women talking around a table. Even I fall asleep." He pats him encouragingly on the shoulder and says, "Take care Peter." Rob grinned and walked away to talk to someone else.

Peter smiled back and gave him a nod goodbye before breathing again and turning to Tony. 

"That wasn't so bad," Tony laughed, his tone almost a question. Peter gave him a weak smile and a confident nod. Tony was right. It wasn't so bad. He could do this. 

Mr. Stark introduced him to a bunch of different people, some contractors, some business heads, CEO's, Presidents and Vice Presidents of certain organizations- Peter lost track. 

Then it was time for them to go into the big meeting hall. Tony pointed to the seat next to him in which Peter gratefully sat. Tony took his seat and cracked easy jokes with the people around him, introduced Peter to even more people. How could he remember everyone's names?

Everyone quieted down and then the head of the table started talking. Peter looked outside and saw the storm was getting worse, snow blowing by the window in thick coats. The windows were glass and floor length, snow piling up to about a foot against it due to the drift from the wind. The trees on the other side of the wind were swaying violently, and Peter, with his hearing, could hear the groaning of the branches and the whistle of the wind through the glass. 

"We're here today due to the threats against our joint organization, some numbers we have to run, and some clarification on progress reports and additions to our policy and procedure." 

Peter was too busy looking around the room, studying the walls, the table, people's faces, to hear the first 10 minutes of what he was saying.

One man stood up with a board, gave a quick presentation, and then sat down. Some people nodded, some people shook their heads, some wrote something down in their notebooks with fancy pens. It was like a foreign language being displayed right in front of him. There came a point where everyone started arguing and Tony stepped in smoothly, all eyes turning to face the cocky billionaire who turned the thing around, cracked a joke, and settled the argument with ease.

Peter watched in awe of how calm and collected Tony was, coming up with certain things to say on the go and pulling facts out of thin air, making himself sound incredibly intuitive. Peter sat in silence, zoning out again as the progress reports came around. Then there were some changes to company policies, documents were handed out with enough words to make Peter's brain hurt. He tuned in when Tony started speaking, however, realizing they had switched discussion points. 

"I don't get why we're so worried about this," Tony admitted. "The 'threats' were called in and our records facility was hacked. All of the research on there is public stuff. It would be like attacking a library, or a first grader thinking they're cool when they don't walk in a line in the hallway."

"It doesn't matter _where_ the hacks were, it was an attempt Stark." Peter didn't like that guy. He was talking down to Tony. As if he was smarter. Peter scoffed and realized it was louder than he expected. Tony smirked, not glancing at Peter directly, but knowing Peter had looked sheepishly at him. Peter broke into a smile when he knew Tony understood exactly what he was thinking. The man continued, "And if they can hack there, they can hack into our more secure systems."

"Security level at a records facility is nothing compared to what our information is stored in," Tony countered, almost laughing. "I hacked into the Pentagon's database on a dare in high school. I made sure no one can get through this programming. If they can get past my tech, heck, they deserve to have it. I don't get hacked."

"There's always a first Stark," the man said snootily. Peter wanted to punch him. 

"You still haven't had your first have you David?" Tony raised an eyebrow. A few men chuckled. Some coughed to quiet a loud laugh. Peter grinned. David scowled and stayed quiet. 

2 minutes later, Peter was surprisingly engaged in this section of the meeting. He had faced many bad guys in his life. Each one had a motive, a purpose. If it wasn't clear, it was hidden, and someone who wanted to get under this group organization's skin wouldn't go for a public place without a good reason. Bad people were always smart. 

Peter's gaze fell on the updated policies and procedures packet that was laying under Tony's hands and he grabbed the edge and tugged slightly. Tony, pausing in his conversation, lifted his hands so he could slide it out from underneath, giving Peter a small smile before continuing. Peter could feel everyone's eyes on him but he didn't care, he honed in on the paper and started searching what he was looking for. 

When he found it he tugged on Tony's jacket, his breathing speeding up. He looked around the room nervously, looking out the windows, his heartbeat pounding faster. 

"What is it Pete-" Tony whispered. 

"I need to tell you something-" Peter started. 

"Is there something you'd like to share to the class?" David said from across the room, shooting Tony a death look and giving Peter an disapproving glance. 

Tony flashed him and the board a smile, "No. We're fine-"

"I would like to say something," Peter said before he lost his nerve. 

A couple of the members chuckled and Peter felt his face turn red. Tony gave him a worried look, not mad, but concerned about what he was going to say.

"Go on Peter." That was Rob, nodding him on. 

"Tony- Mr. Stark is right," Peter said slowly. "No one would have attempted to hack into records that were public without a reason." 

"Thank you for restating what already-" David droned. 

"Let the kid finish," Tony snapped. "Go on Pete."

Peter gave him a look of gratitude and took a deep breath, "In your procedure for safety you state that whenever there's an attack or an attempted hack into your secure database, you hold a meeting exactly 1 week after the event. Here."

"Your point?" someone drawled.

Peter spoke quietly, "If someone was trying to do something worse than just hack into a _library, _like an assassination attempt or a bombing, they'd make sure all the targets were in one place."

Peter stopped talking. There was silence around the room. Tony knew exactly what Peter had meant. Immediately everyone started shouting. Tony shot Peter a look and put a hand up to his ear.

"FRIDAY, check security camera footage."

Peter suddenly felt the hairs on his back stand up. "Drop," he mumbled. His spider senses tingled off the charts. He looked over his shoulder out the window towards the trees, his hands shaking, his whole body tense. Peter stood out of his seat and walked to the window, looking outside, trying to see whatever he could. His mind spun but was still all at once. Things went in slow motion as Peter took a deep breath and concentrated. There was a low click. A small shuffle. No one else could hear it. But he could. And it was about to-

"DROP!" Peter suddenly yelled. He whirled around in fear, locking eyes with Tony. "NOW!"

The floor length glass window shattered as a bullet came in, scattering the floor with sharp shards. Peter covered his head and flinched, twistedly thankful he had not been the one hit. There was a cry of pain and a man jerked backward- the intended target, a bullet hitting him in the arm as he had tried to fall out of his seat. Peter's cry had just saved his life.

Peter wasted no time after that and lunged across the room, tackling Tony out of his chair as a second bullet hit the table right where his chest would have been. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, he grabbed a fistful of Tony's suit and pulled him out of the path of the window. 

Tony grabbed his forearm, assuring him he was ok as he got to his feet. He double tapped on his chest, his suit forming around his body. Peter breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the Iron Man suit.

"Get away from the windows!" Tony yelled, helping a man to get out of the lane of fire. Bullets were still coming through, shattering the remaining windows, Peter flinching with each one, covering his head. Tony slid in front of the window, a bullet bouncing off his armor and he fired blindly, immediately turning to shield the man who had been shot in the arm.

"Pete! Give them some cover!" Tony groaned, lifting the man and leading him out, shooting with his right hand out the window.

Peter reached into his pocket and grabbed one of his web shooters, slipping it on and yelling, "GET DOWN!" He shot the web, catching the end of the table and with his super strength. He yanked and it toppled onto it's side, men and crouching and crawling behind the makeshift shield Peter had set up for them. 

"Go! Go! GO!" Tony yelled, he and Peter helping men and women up and leading them out of the room to safety. When that was everyone, and the room was now empty, but the screams and sounds of bullets were far from over, Tony reached out his hand to Peter. 

Peter was about to take it when his face went slack suddenly, a fearful expression coming over him. A small ticking sound was heard by the back wall, getting faster. 

"What Pete-" Tony froze and cut himself off; he must have gotten a panicked alert from FRIDAY as well. 

Tony never had time to finish anyway. Peter webbed his chest, pulling him away from the wall and flipping over him, kicking the leg of the table so it spun around. Tony, who had fell to the floor from Peter's sudden yank turned, only to be forced to the ground by the teen who wrapped his arms around him and sheltered him, bracing the table against his heels and squeezing his eyes shut. Tony, understanding what was going on struggled to move so Peter didn't take the blast.

Too late.

3...2...1...

0

The room exploded, shaking the entire building. The sound made Peter almost pass out, incapable of hearing anything but a ringing in his ears for the next couple minutes. He was tossed- more like thrown into the air, the table splintering immediately, stopping the initial wave of rubble, but raining down on them in tiny pieces. Tony and Peter were blown into the wall that promptly crumbled as they hit it. Peter cried out and slammed into the ground, landing awkwardly on the other side of the adjacent room, losing their grip on Tony.

Peter's back felt like it was burned and being dug into by claws. His head was spinning and he struggled to breathe, wheezing deeply. The place was on fire, the sprinkler system already working, spraying cold rain on Peter's stomach as he lay in pain on his back. 

He groaned and moved his head, the pain in his spine flaring up as he focused on Tony who was limp against the wall, his head slumped to his chest.

"Tony-" Peter croaked. He grit his teeth and rolled over, slowing army crawling toward the billionaire's side. "Karen, connect to FRIDAY." Then he realized he didn't have his suit. Luckily the A.I. heard him from the external speaker and answered the question she knew he would ask. 

_"He's still breathing. Just unconscious."_

Peter breathed a sigh of relief, sinking to Tony's side, resting his tired head against the cool armor that was chipped and covered with dust. 

There were suddenly shouts and sounds of guns firing and Peter curled closer to Tony, lifting his arm shakily, his fingers hovering over the button in the center of his palm, pointing at the hole in the wall that led to the other room. Peter set his brow, determined to protect Tony if anyone came through. He was breathing hard, his shaking hand flat on the floor, covered in blood, some not his own. Peter took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing, his senses honing in as he focused, everything going in slow motion. 

Suddenly he flinched. Commotion. Peter grit his teeth, his heart pounding, ready for a fight. A man entered with a gun and Peter froze, silencing his breathing until he had to reveal his hiding place. Just as the man raised his gun he shot the man with a web right in the chest and yanked him forward. With a cry, the man hit his head on the low blasted wall and crumpled immediately. Peter lowered his arm when suddenly there was a cough and gasp next to him. 

Tony shot awake, his gaze focusing on Peter who stared back with wide, worried eyes.

"Mr. S-" Peter started when suddenly Tony's gaze switched to something over the his shoulder. Peter's face went slack. A snarl came over Tony's face and he lunged forward, both of his arms shooting out out, one to pull Peter to his chest and turn away and his other to heat up and fire a violent beam towards the person that had just walked in and raised his gun. A shot rang out at the same time as Tony's blast. The man was decked, flipping onto his back, but he had still pulled the trigger. Peter felt a bullet sink into his arm as he fell against Tony's chest. He let out a choked gasp, muffled against the suit. 

Tony held him tightly, breathing hard, unaware that he hadn't stopped the bullet. Peter couldn't exactly talk to tell him. Instead, grateful for the change in authority, and fine it being saved- even if it was only half- _once in a while. _He held Tony tighter, burying his face in the billionaire's chest as pain made him drowsy. A tear slipped down Peter's cheek, his eyes closing. He felt his arm throbbing, blood pouring down his arm from the bullet wound, which was in the meat of his shoulder. Tony was breathing almost as fast as he was. 

"Mr. Stark?" he whispered weakly. Tony knew something was wrong, just from his tone. Tony always knew.

"Pete are you-" Tony pulled him backward, his helmet receding to his neck, clutching Peter's shoulder in doing so...right on the bullet wound. 

Peter screamed. 

Tony recoiled, shocked, as Peter sobbed in pain from the jarring shock. Tony immediately found the wound, registering what had happened, just as Peter collapsed into his arms.

"Oh God- hey, Peter- _oh_-" Tony cussed loudly, cradling Peter in his lap as the teen held a shaky hand over his wound, his face screwed up in pain. "Peter? You stay with me, you got it? You're gonna be fine. It went right through."

"That's great," Peter mumbled sarcastically.

"Smart alec. You ok? Hey, talk to me," Tony gave a slight smile, brushing back Peter's hair from his face.

"Peachy," Peter responded, trying to not let his voice shake.

Tony looked at him sadly, guilt written all over his face, "I'm sorry kid."

"Wasn't your fault," Peter mumbled, gritting his teeth.

"Can you sit up?" Tony asked gently, keeping a wary eye on the door. "Come on, I've got you," Tony said encouragingly, a firm hand pressed against Peter's back. Peter clamped his teeth together, the look in Tony's eyes stopping Peter from letting out a scream. 

"I'm ok-" Peter coughed weakly.

"No Pete. You got freaking shot. That's the exact opposite of ok," Tony snapped, but there was no anger behind it.

"I've had worse," Peter slurred, wincing harshly and losing his balance. He leaned backward too far and waited for the harsh hit of the ground but it never came. Firm hands grabbed him and moved him slightly left. Tony tucked him into his chest, the metal suit surprisingly soft.

"Steady Crockett," Tony said gently, letting Peter rest for a minute, his arms protectively around him. "Concentrate on breathing. In and out, got it? In and out. Keep doing that buddy ok? You're gonna be just fine."

"Yeah," Peter nodded, even that making him a little queasy. His ears were still ringing. His eyes burned from the smoke and dust, his ribs and back still aching from being...blown up. Ha, that's funny. He was blown up. Man, he was losing it. 

"In and out Peter," Tony demanded, more firmly.

Oh that's right. Breathing. Come on Peter.

"Come on kid, hang in there ok?" Tony said worriedly.

Peter licked his lips and croaked out, "You should be a yoga instructor."

"Let's get out of here, and then we can focus on my line of work. Got it?" Tony said with a slight grin on his face.

Peter smiled. 

"FRIDAY?" Tony said weakly, already pressing his hand against Peter's wound despite his squirming.

_"911 has been called. Your personal team is also on their way. The rest of the board members have escaped but they're closing in on this room, looking for you and Peter. They've made a perimeter around the North, East, and West entrances, and an automatic deterrent that will shut down anything with an electric based source that's more than 6 feet above ground. That goes for 3 miles South."_

"We've got to walk it," Peter said grimly.

Tony looked at him warily, shaking his head, "Peter it's cold out there- we can stay and fight and I'll-"

"Tony. I'm no help fighting with one hand. We'll get surrounded and there's no way you can win when you're trying to protect me. I know leaving me isn't one of your options," Peter said, getting a death look from Tony, "so we have to walk it. They've got the North, East, and West covered. The South is woods. We can lose them in the snow. FRIDAY can pinpoint the location and send someone out to get us. We just-" he winced as he tried to sit up, "have to last long enough."

Tony processed at that information and then he locked eyes with the kid, "You sure you can do this?"

Peter grinned, "I'm unstoppable."

"One of these days..." Tony swore, shaking his head. The suit retracted from his body, and Tony used his pocket knife he always carried to rip apart the sleeve of his expensive tux to tie around Peter's arm. He glanced at him, "It's gonna hurt like a-"

"I know," Peter grit his teeth wearily. 

Tony wrapped it around the bullet wound and then yanked it tight, Peter giving a yelp in pain and pushing away from him in instinct. He slowly inched back to Tony, furious tears escaping from his eyes. Peter wiped them with the back of his hand, probably smearing soot and dust on his face. 

There were shouts and gunshots from out in the hall. Peter and Tony exchanged looks and Peter nodded. Tony eased out from behind Peter who sat up by his own doing, wincing only slightly. Tony stood and then crouched, holding out his hand to clasp Peter's forearm. He pulled him up gently and Peter slung his arm around Tony's shoulders. Tony raised his palm and blasted through the wall in front of them, concrete crumbling away to reveal the outside, snow drifting in, cold wind slamming into Peter like a wave. He shivered. 

"Alright kid," Tony checked behind him, "we gotta move."

Peter nodded and they started forward, pressed against Tony's side, his bad arm limp against his chest. Peter was holding it lightly, pressing his lips together to suppress his screams. Suddenly there was a crackle near the tree line that was only a couple remaining yards away and Peter hitched a breath.

_"Ten o'clock! Motion detected. He's armed!"_ FRIDAY announced. 

Tony cursed and whirled, putting Peter behind him and shooting two blasts. They both hit their target but then Tony cursed louder, realizing all that commotion, and the fact that the man's gun went off, pointed at the sky, attracted attention inside the building they had just been in. 

"Go!" Tony demanded and he and Peter raced for the tree line. They had just crossed into the trees when a shot rang out, splintering a tree a foot away from Peter. Tony shoved him down as another shot rang off. 

"Son of a-" Tony growled, sending a missile in the direction of the shots. There was an explosion and yelling and Peter grabbed Tony's out stretched arm to help him up and they kept running. 

About 10 minutes in, Peter really started to feel the cold. He was only wearing the suit that he had came to the event with, and it wasn't exactly a winter coat. Half of it was burnt off and torn anyway from the explosion. Tony noticed how bad Peter was shaking and he cursed, stopping them both harshly and exiting the suit.

"Tony- w-what are y-you doing?" Peter shivered.

"Shut up kid," Tony demanded nicely as he took off his suit jacket and vest and forced Peter into them despite his protests.

20 minutes in and Peter didn't realize how bad the storm was getting either. They had only made it quarter mile it seemed like since Tony had given him his jacket, even though that had been a good 10 minutes ago. The wind was howling, snow coming down faster than Peter had ever seen, the flakes thick and big, instantly piling it up. Peter and Tony's feet sank at least 2 inches before they could take another step. 

Peter was shivering hard and Tony held him closer as they stumbled forward.

"FRIDAY," Tony said weakly. 

_"They're still on your tail boss. We can't get an evac to you yet due to the storm."_

Tony cussed, looking to the side. Peter couldn't tell a difference between the trees on his left and on his right. Tony pointed to his left. "We're gonna go this way. Maybe if we loop back around the side we can get out of these da- Peter?" 

Peter's teeth were chattering. His lips were turning blue. He suddenly couldn't move his legs anymore. It was too cold. He couldn't move. His lips felt frozen shut. His teeth were chattering and his lungs felt like they were laced with ice. It was almost...hot. That's how cold it was. He couldn't do it- it was too hard. He couldn't even cry it hurt so much-

He buckled and Tony caught him before he could fall entirely into the snow. Peter's eyes rolled into the back of his head, his limbs tensing and going rigid. 

Tony cried out, screaming his name. Peter couldn't answer just yet. He choked on a gasp. 

"Peter! Hey, kid, talk to me. Peter, now! Please!"

"Mr. S-Star-rk," Peter shivered, shaking badly. 

Tony cussed, pulling Peter closer in his arms, cradling him in the snow, leaning over him to try and shield him from the wind. "Hey kid, yeah. I'm right here. Right here."

"I c-c-can't," Peter whined. 

"Hey," Tony's voice was gentle, "Star Wars. Peter, tell me about the new one."

"You already k-know a-bout the n-new one," Peter mumbled. 

"Humor me kid, come on," Tony prods. 

Peter stuttered through a few sentences. 

God why was he so cold! He must have said that out loud because Peter answered his question and Tony's heart stopped.

"S-spid-ders d-don't th-ther-mo-re-regulate," Peter chattered.

Tony's face went completely slack. Horror filled his gaze. The suit peeled away from his arm and he touched Peter's skin and yelled a curse word. It was ice cold. Holy- Oh God- it was so cold- the kid sometimes didn't even shiver- Oh God- it was so-

He spoke quietly, "FRIDAY transfer the suit to Peter. Now. External communication."

"W-wait Mr. S-Star-rk-" Peter protested weakly. 

_"Transferring,"_ FRIDAY said. Tony exited the suit and it wrapped around Peter who immediately sank into Tony's embrace with a small whimper. The snow picked up and Tony shivered, his limbs slightly frozen, but he knew Peter was worse. He dug into the snow, putting an arm under Peter's back and legs and lifted the kid with effort. Peter's head fell against Tony's shoulder. 

"I've got you kid. I'm gonna get you out of this, I promise."

When Peter came to he thought he was dead. He was no longer cold. He had reached past that to feel anything. He had stopped shaking. Arms were still around him, staggering slowly, step by step. Ragged breathing and coughing shook him out of his sleep. 

He blinked and opened his eyes. He was still in the suit, Tony shivering and walking a few steps every 30 seconds. 

"FRIDAY," Peter croaked. "Trans-s-fer-t-the s-suit."

"No kid," Tony said back, recognizing the fact that Peter was stirring in his arms as he staggered forward. 

Too late. The suit left Peter's body and attached Tony and the man finally took a deep breath. Peter smiled as he went unconscious again, curling closer to his chest...just so cold...

When Tony finally broke through the treeline, there was a helicopter waiting. Two medics ran forward to meet him. 

They reached for Peter and Tony snarled weakly, "You t-touch him and I'll k-kill you. He s-stays with me, g-got it?"

Both medics understood that there was no way Tony was letting the teenager out of his grasp. They helped him up into the helicopter and Tony gently lowered himself to the floor, making sure Peter wasn't jostled. 

"B-bullet wound in his s-shoulder, n-not threatening, h-hypothermia-" Tony mumbled quietly, tightening his grip around the unconscious kid in his arms. Peter's lips were blue and there was frost on his face and lips. They were blue. The medics shouted muffled screams, or at least to Tony they were muffled and then a warm blanket was draped over him. 

"K-kid f-first," Tony demanded, yanking the blanket down with his free hand. He tucked it under Peter's head and around his chin. Then a second one was wrapped around his back and shoulders. Tony pulled Peter closer to his chest and shivered, resting his chin in Peter's hair and taking a deep breath, slowly falling asleep. 

The medics saw that Tony Stark had fallen asleep and attempted to pull the kid from his grasp but the teenager woke up, tightening his grip on the billionaire either subconsciously or consciously, no one knew. He curled closer to Tony, his head tucked under Tony's chin as he shivered. 

"B-back off," he mumbled. 

The medics did as they were told, marveling the bond between the man and the teenager. They had seen father and son attachments, but this was another level. This was a codependency. One could not be without the other. Tony and Peter remained on the floor of the helicopter, tight in each other's arms, holding one another as they shivered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow that was long. and a cheesy ending- like i said, I'm bad at those and back off was so cringy but bEaR WiTH mE.  
anyway, hopefully worth it? sorry this was a little long wait time. wow I am not using capital letters, ok  
anyway next chapter, y'all get to chose!  
Comment A for a flashback to when peter gets rly hurt during the battle at the airport and they have to stop fighting Comment B for me to write an alternate ending to homecoming where peter doesn't walk away from the vulture fight and tony comes to the rescue  
A would be a little longer.  
Love you all 3000, hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Everyone has a Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I realized that there was no way I could write a rly long or even long chapter with just that 1 event sooooo I wrote Option B out fully, and then hopefully it connects well into the story. I also added like 2 little things that people have asked for and then was like, screw it. I'm just gonna write. Soooo the result is that this crazy chapter makes no sense but is worth the read. Next chapter is more structured I promise XD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am also so sorry for how SHORT this was and how long the wait was in comparison. Life hit hard this week and i got half sick and ughhhhh it's fun. but writing this is always fun. Let me know how it was and stay tuned! I'm getting back into the groove. Next chapter should be longer in length and much betterrrrr <3

**1 Month Ago**

_SLASH_

Peter lets out a yell and ducks, seeing the Vulture slice down right where his head would have been.

Sparks fly as Peter slides down the edge of the plane an inch, breathing hard as the sharp wing takes off the panels right above him. They fall on top him and Peter shakes the tiny pieces of glass off. They tumble with the wind and get sucked under the plane and into the dark sky.

Holy- ok, he's really high right now. Peter sees the Vulture trying to circle around and lifts a hand and shoots a web at his wing, the momentum yanking him forward farther than he was expecting.

Suspended in mid air, both arms holding onto a web, one onto the Vulture's wing and the other on the plane, Peter hangs there for a split second, eyes wide with fear. The web that's stuck to the plane is coming off, Peter can feel the slack on his arm. No, no, no, no- crap.

The web snaps and Peter lets go of Vulture's web, not wanting that to be his life line. Instead, he'll go for the engine- As Peter let's go, the wind takes him faster than he was expecting. Peter gets whiplash and screams as he goes flying, tossed through the air, immediately feeling the suck of the engine that he's tumbling straight towards in the air. 

"Oh God! Oh God! AHHhHHHHhhhhHHHhHH-" 

He sees Vulture barrel past even faster, his wing getting torn up by the other propeller as it's dragged in, damaging, but not breaking it. 

Peter doesn't think- he just shoots his webs rapid fire at the propeller blades, still screaming as he goes feet first into the engine, his eyes squeezed shut. When Peter opens the, he let's out a gleeful laugh, looking around his makeshift cocoon he's made. 

"Whew, I can't believe that worked!" He exclaimed happily, before realizing that he was on top of an invisible jet, on homecoming, fighting his girlfriend's dad. Why the heck was he laughing?

Then, on cue, just to mess with him, the propeller gives away from the plane and Peter's hand lashes out and catches the side of the plane just in time. He attempts to just climb out of the engine towing him and then finds he can't; his arm is stuck in the webs. He tightens his grip on the plane and brings back his heel, slamming it into the center of the propeller, trying to kick it off him.

He finally succeeds, ripping his arm out and kicking it entirely off his body. It falls into the sky and Peter has no time to watch it go. Vulture is suddenly right behind him and swooping down. Peter darts to the side, losing his grip on the plane and flails, trying to regain balance. 

Peter sees the Vulture unintentionally coming for his chest, also off balance due to the wind and Peter just lets himself go, flying backward and slamming into the end of the engines hard on his back. He cries out and shoots a web so he doesn't go plummeting to his death, the wing his only life line to the plane.

The engine promptly explodes and catches on fire, as if just hanging off the back of the plane wasn't enough and Peter gasps, coughing through the smoke.

They were down 3 engines now. Peter pulls himself back onto the plane and immediately rolls to the side as a wing comes slicing through where he was laying. Sparks are flying, the cameras on the plane completely shattered and charred with thick grooves and cuts littering the top. 

Peter takes shuddering deep breaths, his arms screaming, his head spinning. Focus Peter, don't let go, he thinks. He thinks he can hear a bit of Toom's conversation through his coms. 

_"Chief, chief, they’re losing altitude. Get out of there!"_ It was the same guy he had learn at the secret gas station lair. 

Peter groans as he finally regains his balance, grabbing the plane as hard as he can to keep from falling off. He gaps in pain as he sees the Vulture but luckily he's not focused on Peter at the moment, he's about 50 feet away near the back wing. 

_"I’m not going home empty-handed,"_ Tooms growls determinedly, still acting like Peter was invisible, stabbing the tip of his wing into the center of the plane. Peter reverts his attention elsewhere and his stomach seems like it's on the ground, more than usual. 

"Oh my God!" He whispers fearfully, his heartbeat speeding up. Peter urges himself up, scrambles up, trying to pull himself back onto the plane. The nose was heading straight for the city. 

Peter cried out, pulling himself onto the plane and army crawling towards the wing. His arms trembled with every step, ducking as bits and pieces of the ceiling of the plane sliced his back and shoulder's. Peter covered his head and looked right while crawling. The Vulture was there, ripping open the ceiling and holding a box in his foot claws, the same one that had clamped onto Peter's leg. 

Peter grit his teeth, determination setting in and he fired a web at the wing, braced his feet against the side of the plane and pulled as hard as he can, straining his arms. 

_"Get out of there! What are you doing?"_ the man shouted into Toom's comm, breaking up as they dropped in altitude, really, really fast. 

Peter continues to struggle pulling the wing, groaning and crying out in pain. His voice cracks and he practically begs, "Please turn! Please turn!"

Innocent men, women, children- no. Pull Peter! He lets out a cry through gritted teeth, yanking his web as hard as he can, desperately trying to turn the plane. The plane turns, a roar as it flies right over the city, barely missing the top of building as it loses altitude. Peter pulls still, digging his feet in the broken plane and pull harder.

Peter's web snaps and he is thrown backward, catching himself at the last minute, tossed to the opposite wing. Peter sticks out a hand and gulps, clinging onto the wing for dear life, unable to pull himself back up and turn the plane anymore. He ducks as the wing slices through one of the decorative light statues with it's far wing and then dips it's nose and plummets towards Coney Island.

The entire plane is on fire now, all 4 engines out, the whole plane shuddering and shaking, the wind screaming in Peter's ears and pulling at his sweatpants and sweatshirt. 

Peter wraps his arms around tighter, looking up in horror at the Vulture, who instead of leaving once he saw the plane was going down, is instead trying to steal one of Tony's boxes. Peter has no strength to stop him. He closes his eyes; the flickering of the defective panels wanting to make him throw up and pass out.

Instead he just puts his head down, claps his arms around the wing and braces, knowing it's not going to do much good. 

Happy will tell him later that he saw something out of the corner of his eye and stood up quickly, seeing the massive plane, on fire and ripped apart, heading for a crash landing on the beach. 

Peter holds on tighter, wondering how much it's going to hurt as the plane dives into the sand. The first jolt almost knocks him off entirely and Peter's now holding on with one hand, letting out a fearful scream as he tries desperately to stay on. Smoke and fire multiply enormously and he can't see, he just feels his hand slipping. No, no, no, no-

The plane breaks in half, catapulting Peter forward. He loses his hold and goes flying, immediately sucked back by the wind, slamming into the broken wing which pitches him to the ground. He screams as his back hits the wing and doesn't know what else to do but try and roll with the hardest landing he's ever taken. Peter feels the plane pass over him as he hits the sand hard, and just tumbles head over heels, feeling nothing but pain. He rolls down the beach in the plane's wake, slamming again and again into the sand unable to stop, catch his breath, even think a decent thought. He's just tumbling and slamming and hitting and- pain. 

When Peter finally slid to a stop and was on his back, buried in the sand, unable to move. All he can see is smoke and flames as he lays sprawled out on the charred ground, pain washing over him like a tidal wave. 

He grunts and lifts up his arms, digging for the bottom of his mask. He sits up with effort, still desperately trying to get off the thick fabric, groaning. He finds the edge and peels it up, breathing in short gasps. He yanks it off with a yell, up and over his head, his hair bouncing up from when it was plastered.

Peter gasps, the world muffled, his ears ringing. He falls backward, weakly onto one elbow, screwing up his face in pain before he rolls over, grunting, onto his hands and knees. Peter takes a ragid breath, trying to gain traction in the sand. He's breathing hard and he groans as he straightens his arms and digs his feet into the ground, starting to rise up with his mask held firmly in his fist. 

Peter stands and staggers backward a few steps, off balance, still barely able to hear. He's gasping, but then his spider senses tingle. The ground starts shaking and Peter turns slowly, hearing a muffled oncoming roar and Peter staggers a bit. Over the pile of fiery rubble comes the Vulture and Peter barely has time to let out a scream before he slams into him. 

Peter's voice cracks, the wind blown out of him as he goes tumbling again, smashing against the ground, curling onto his side in pain, covering his head. 

Dust and sand rise up around him as Peter let's out a choked groan, grabbing his side. He hears commotion and mechanical whirls behind him and Peter slowly gets to his feet again, looking fearfully in the direction in which the Vulture had gone.

He forces himself up faster this time, staggering back even further to righten his balance, his chest rising and falling rapidly. 

The Vulture rises from the rubble, pushing a piece of the plane off of him. Sparks fly from his wings, clear that they're damaged, but not damaged enough. The Vulture's green eyes lock with Peter's and he swears he can see Toom's eyes grinning from under the black mask. 

"Hey Pedro," he snarls. 

Peter fights back a sob and grits his teeth, his fists shaking because they're so tightly clenched. The Vulture surges forward and Peter breaks into a sprint as well, jumping into a roll beneath the Vulture as the claws miss him. Peter gets up and jumps to the left, shooting a web, but to his dismay, the faulter in the mechanical wing made the Vulture's dip a little more drastic than Peter had expected. The web goes spiralling past him into the sky and Peter sucks in a breath as the Vulture dives down, claws extended. 

He lets out a groan as he's slammed into the ground, his head smacking hard against the sand. The Vulture extends his claws, pinning him into the ground, and Peter screams in pain as the they dig into his chest, holding him down. 

His cry does nothing to phase Tooms who brings back a metal fist and punches him hard in the face. Pain explodes on the right side of Peter's cheek and he screams with every hit, punches being rained down on him as Peter can't protect himself. 

The Vulture, caught up in Peter's agony, raises his fist a little too high for a pull back and Peter surges forward, his arm shooting out, catching the fist before it can give him another devastating blow to the head. His strength is winning, the Vulture's armored arm cracking and sparking.

Instead Tooms tightens the claw that's still around and in Peter's chest and rises up with him into the sky. Peter struggles and kicks, batting the other claw away, desperate to break free as they rise higher. 

Peter grabs the two sides of the claw in his chest and pulls them apart, his arms wind mailing as he starts to fall. A quick look over his shoulder reveals a very sharp pointed piece of the wing, right in the direction of his path and Peter shoots a web at the Vulture to avoid it, yanking him to the side.

Peter hits the side of the wing, bending the metal as the Vulture cuts his web, kicking Peter above his head, who can do nothing in the air. He can't twist away as the Vulture grabs his ankle, spinning him once before he lets him go. Peter screams, and then drops to the ground hard, landing on his stomach, his head smacking into the sand. 

Groaning, he tries to get to his feet, but just as he gets to his hands and knees the claws slam into his back, shoving him face first into the ground with a muffled scream. The claws dig into Peter's back as they lift him up and then slam him hard into the sand. Peter feels ribs shatter from the impact. The Vulture lifts him again and this time let's him go, helping him get to the ground even faster with a harsh kick to the back. 

Peter hits the ground and stays there, face first in the sand, unable to move, barely conscious, pain overriding any spider sense he still had. Peter groans, but it's more like a choked sob as he sluggishly rolls over onto his back, his arms spread, his chest rising and falling as much as it still can- smoke coating his lungs. 

The Vulture's piercing green eyes pear down at him, studying his broken form and Peter glares back with equal hate. Peter closes his eyes as he strikes down with a pointed wing, feeling it sink into the sand right next to his head. Peter's going unconscious as he's raised up by his hoodie, dangling limp in the Vulture's grip. 

"I let you live once. I'm not making the same mistake again," Vulture snarls. 

Peter looks up weakly, his vision swimming. Then out of nowhere he hears a very familiar sound. A blaster heating up, it's whir getting louder in Peter's ears. He doubts his muffled hearing, blaming it on the ringing in his ears as the Vulture stabs his other wing forward. 

There's a massive blast as the tip of the Vulture's wing explodes, never hitting Peter and Toom's turns, still holding Peter's limp form. Peter can barely turn his head but he sees the red and yellow suit that's standing atop the plane, arm extended. 

The helmet flips up and Peter can see the fury in the man's eyes even from where he's being held.

Tony snarls, "Get away from my kid."

The man in the machine turns and lets out a laugh, walking forward, Peter still dangling in his grasp, barely conscious. "Tony Stark. What an honor."

Tony puts up a glowing palm, warning, "Don't."

"Oh, right, right, you'll kill me," he mocks, moving his wing so Peter is now directly in front of him, held limp by his hoodie. 

"_He's still breathing," _FRIDAY assured him. 

Tony breathed an inward sigh of relief for that but then stepped closer. "Drop the kid. Now."

The man snorted, looking at Peter like he was some kind of prize, and then shaking his head, "Yeah I don't think so. He caused a lot of trouble for me-"

"Drop him or I'll make you drop him," Tony snapped, cutting the man's monologue short. 

"Scary. Unfortunately, Stark. I'll not scared of you." The piercing green eyes proved his point. 

Suddenly Peter jerked to life, grabbing the top of his hoodie with one hand and webbing something on the ground. It flew into his hand and he swung his arm up, letting out a yell of pain, slicing clean through the cotton. Tony saw a glint of a point- his fist holding a sharp piece of glass he must have snagged.

The teenager dropped to the ground and Tony shot forward, sliding to one knee, both palms extended, blasting the wing that made an arc toward Peter's exposed chest as the Vulture tried to stab the kid.

Tony stood protectively in front of Peter who crawled backward on his hands and knees. Tony stood and blasted the man in the chest again, knocking him further back before spiraling forward and grabbing the left wing, snapping it off.

He grabbed the top of the helmet the man had on and yanked it off. The man's eyes were filled with fear and Tony brought back his fist and punched him straight in the face before he picked him up and blasted him in the chest. 

Tony started forward, fury building up in his chest. 

Then there was a small _thwap_ and Tony felt resistance pulling him back as he walked forward. 

"Mr. Stk-" Peter mumbled from behind him. Tony turned, seeing Peter's arm extended. He had shot a web at Tony's back and tugged slightly. Upon seeing the kid limp against a pile of rubble, his body bloodied and broken, looking so tired, the red faded out of Tony's vision, and his breathing returned to normal. He hurried over to Peter's side.

"Oh God, kid, I'm so sorry," Tony said, afraid to touch the teen's fragile body. 

"You didn't know-" Peter croaked, trying to sit up. 

"Well I should have known," Tony snapped, slipping an arm under Peter's and helping him sit up, grabbing his shoulder as the kid slumped backward again. "Hey, stay with me Pete. You're ok."

"I'm sorry- the plane-" Peter mumbled softly, guilt written all over his face. 

"Don't worry about the plane Peter," Tony responded lightly. "I never should have-"

The kid suddenly tensed and FRIDAY sounded a warning in his ears. 

"T-ny!" Peter screamed and Tony looked over his own shoulder. 

Peter shot a web and Tony spun and shot a missile, a fireball erupting in front of them. Tony felt the massive dark form slam into him, along with a wave of heat. He fell back, reaching blindly as heard Peter's strangled scream. Peter fought his way out of the Vulture's grasp and Tony was up again, sending 2 beams of light to make him drop the teenager. Tony watched as Peter hit the ground, got to his feet and staggered backward, flinching as the Vulture swooped in again.

He never got to Peter before Tony slammed into him on the side, punching him in the face and sending them both tumbling backwards. They spiraled and hit the ground, sand spraying with the impact. Peter ran forward, hand clamped over his hurt side, and shot a web at Toom's face, blinding him. Tony ripped off the suit, leaving the man limp on the ground. He threw the wings aside and stepped back. 

"Stand down," Tony ordered, leveling his palm right at the man's face. 

"I'm already ruined. I'll ruin you with me," the man snarled, spitting out blood and bringing his hand to his wrist. Before Tony could get a shot off, the man grinned, pressing a button on his wrist. A button started blinking an eerie green light. The wings to Tony's left started to beep with the same light and a shiver went down Tony's spine as he froze. 

"NO!" Peter had already sprinted forward and tackled Tony before FRIDAY could even get a warning out and Tony turned to shield the kid, holding him against his chest. 

The explosion shook the ground and a wave of fire lept forward at the two huddled forms. The Iron Man suit expanded, fire licking at the sides, slowly pushing them forward in the sand, but not burning Tony or Peter. 

When it finally died down, Tony found himself knee deep in the sand, crouched over Peter who was curled up against his chest, his eyes squeezed shut, shaking. FRIDAY alerted him that he was still breathing. Tony brushed hair away from the kid's face and winced when he saw the bruises and cuts that littered the teenager's entire body. 

He eased Peter into his arms, one hand under his legs and one under his back and carried him out of the fire. He then shot off towards the tower, the kid's head sliding gently into his shoulder. 

And then Peter opened his eyes. 

**Present Day**

He bolted straight up, almost hitting his head on the top of the bunk, breathing hard, looking at the twisted sheets around his legs. Peter took a moment for his spider senses to settle down and for him to steady his rapid breathing. He ran his hand over his face before busying his shaky hands with running through his hair. 

Peter got up slowly, wincing at the sharp pain in his side. He lifted his shirt slowly and saw it was still there. The scar. It was from one of the times the Vulture had swiped on the plane. He hadn't moved aside in time and with his adrenaline rush and focus on staying alive, Peter had thought nothing of it. But after Tony had carried him out of the fire and taken him to the hospital, saving his life, that was the one thing the doctor's could not heal. Peter's other cuts and bruises, broken ribs and ankle and concussion had gotten better quickly, thanks to his healing factor.

But that one scar remained. 

Tony had offered to let him use the skin regeneration method by Dr. Cho but Peter declined. He needed to remember it. He needed to remember how it felt.

Peter took a deep breath, the hairs standing up on the back of his neck. He turned and suddenly there was a pair of green eyes peering down at him. Peter hitched a breath and scrambled back, falling off the bed. He backed towards the door on his elbows, grabbing his web shooter, his arm leveled. 

They were gone. There was nothing there. Peter shook his head, rubbing his finger along his scar and sucked in a breath, lowering his arm. 

Keep it together Pete, he thought. Toom's had been brought to the ER in critical condition where he stayed for almost the next month. If Tony had his way, he would have killed him, but Happy convinced him otherwise, per Peter's request.

Tooms was just released from the hospital and put in jail last week. That was why the nightmares came back. 

He took a deep breath. Tooms can't hurt you anymore, Peter told himself. This was the third night in the row Peter had woken up kicking and shaking. Sometimes it was having the building fall on him and he would be sound asleep, his blankets pressing into him like a thousand pounds of concrete, his tears the water that ran down his face. It was all so vivid, all so real. It sometimes took him a while to snap out of it. 

Tony had told him to call him, or at least tell him when it happened. But Peter didn't want to. He didn't want to seem weak. He wasn't weak. He was Spiderman. 

Peter ignored his pounding heartbeat and after another hour, fell back asleep, curled on the floor with a thin sheet. 

It had been 4 months since Peter had met Tony. And yet he still got nervous walking into the lab. 

"Mr. Stark?" Peter called, back from school. 

"Hey kid!" Tony walked out from the side door which led into the supply closet. He grinned a wide smile. Peter couldn't help but smile back, setting his backpack down and walking over to the table Tony was facing. 

"So I have some new upgrades I need you to see," Tony said, tapping a screwdriver in between his thumb and pointer finger. "I upped the heater in your suit so that nothing like the hypothermia- fun times- snow day- will happen again."

Peter gave a small laugh. They hadn't really talked about that afterwards. Peter woke up in the hospital, May at his side. Tony was down the hall in his own room with Pepper. He didn't remember much about what had happened after they started trekking through the woods. He wished he had remembered. He thinks Tony remembered, and is slightly hurt but understanding that he didn't. They never really brought it up. All he knew was that he never wanted to be that cold again. 

_"Baby it's cold outside protocol,"_ FRIDAY added. 

Peter laughed, "One day you're gonna run out of those."

"Challenge accepted," Tony winked before he rubbed his hands together. "So I've got to show you some levels for the new suit, get your opinion on some new upgrades. You need to check your web shooters because I'm pretty sure the hinge is too loose. I've got some better material you can use."

"It is not!" Peter protested. 

Tony put up his hands, "Just trust me-"

"I thought I told you. I moved the pressure point so that the tug on the release cord balances the-" Peter started. 

"No see, we switched the stainless steel plating a month ago Pete-"

"The turbine component is the thing that really matters though, it's the one with the most resistance," Peter pointed out. 

"You're not factoring in the spring steel. Remember that needs the 65 pound pressure to trigger it?"

"But-" Peter realized he was right. Then he realized that they had been communicating without even using full sentences. And then he realized he had been arguing with Tony Stark. "Oh."

"Oh," Tony laughed, mocking him, walking around the table to go to one of the screens, punching him lightly in the arm as he walked past. 

Peter grinned. 

"Get to work Einstein," Tony waved him off. "Tell me what you think of those data configurations and do me a favor, check my plating on the new nanotec I've been working on."

"Got it," Peter nodded. He went to work, glad to take his mind off of school. 

Tony and Peter worked back to back and side by side effortlessly, able to communicate without even talking. Peter needed a screwdriver and he simply turned, Tony already holding it out to him. 

Peter suddenly heard Tony mumble something in Spanish. 

"¿Cómo puedo regular esta presión?" 

He responded without even thinking, "cancelar el factor de la valvula corta y luego multiplicar de acuerdo con la presión."

"Thanks kid," Tony said over his shoulder. 

A minute later, Peter frowned. "Mr. Stark, what's the data for-"

"75 over 80. Divide by the-"

"Got it. And then the-"

"Yes."

"Ok."

Tony looked up about an hour later, turning off the screen he was working on. 

"Hey kid, how about we grab a bite?"

"Almost done," Peter said. 

Tony turned off his computer. 

"Hey!" Peter whined. 

"It's gonna be there when you get back," Tony laughed, putting an arm around him and guiding him out of the lab. 

"How was school?"

"Not bad," Peter admitted. "Chemistry test."

"And?" Tony asked.

"Probably A. Maybe A-," he admitted. 

"A-? You're grounded," Tony teased as they walked down the steps. 

"Shut up," Peter laughed. "What about you? How was your day?"

If Peter had been looking, maybe he would have seen the flicker of emotion on Tony's face, but at that moment, one of Tony's tech's brushed past and Peter had to stop short. When he returned his gaze, Tony's brief moment of expression was gone and the smirk was back.

"Hold on. You're being honest with me for a second," he announced as they walked into the private kitchen on the lower level. 

"About?" Peter said. 

"Last night. I know you didn't sleep," Tony said plainly. Peter glanced up at him in surprise and Tony raised an eyebrow, "You look exhausted. You hid it well for a bit, but you can't hide anything from me Peter."

"It's nothing," Peter brushed him off. 

"It's something," Tony corrected. "Nightmares again? The beach?"

"Yeah," Peter said quietly. 

"You want to talk about it?" Tony asked gently. 

"Not really," Peter admitted weakly. 

Tony nodded. He went over to the cabinet by the oven and got out a pan for pizza. Peter went silently and grabbed the cheese from the fridge. 

"10 years ago," Tony suddenly said, still facing the oven. "In Afghanistan. I spent months in that place. When I finally got back home, one of the few people I thought I could trust betrayed me. Then after that there was New York, and then a vision of the end of the world from Wanda during the Ultron fiasco. I never got a break. It all bundled up and up and up and I let it out in brief spurts of panic attacks, nightmares, and serious PTSD."

Peter stayed quiet. 

Tony turned around, leaning against the counter, looking at Peter with a concerned gaze. "I know what it's like to wake up in the middle of the night and feel like you're drowning or it hurts so much you can't think. I know what it's like to relive the one day you never want to repeat ever again. But I don't want you making the same mistakes as me Peter. You're better than that. You're better than me."

"I handled it by myself. That was my flaw. Doing that almost cost me Pepper, my house, which got blown up by Trevor somebody, and a bunch of hate and panic attacks so bad it took me out of the game and sat me right on the bench," Tony said. 

"I know _exactly _what you're going through, so don't keep it all to yourself, ok kid? Because I still get nightmares too. They aren't just for onesie wearing teenagers," Tony winked, giving him a small smile. Then he clapped his hands, clearing his throat. 

"TED Talk done. Feedback. Thoughts, questions, concerns, come on kid." It was mean tot be a joke but Peter heard the comfort in the underlying tone. 

"I'm just scared," Peter said finally.

"And that's a bad thing?" Tony scoffed. 

"Yes!" Peter exclaimed. "I'm Spiderman. I'm not weak. I'm not supposed to be scared."

"Weak is not the same thing as scared Peter," Tony pointed out. 

"Not for you," Peter said. His message was clear. What could Iron Man possibly be afraid of?

"The dark."

Peter looked up. 

"The dark," Tony said again simply. 

"Oh," Peter said quietly. A lot of things made sense now. Why the compound was so bright, why Tony's suit always lit up, why he always had a light on in his room, why he didn't sleep well-

"But you're not-" Peter stuttered, "Weak."

"And neither are you," Tony said firmly. "Fear is what makes us human, grounds us. By overcoming it we become stronger, but that is not something you can do by yourself ok Peter? You have too much weight on your shoulders- more than any teenager should ever have. And you don't need to carry it all."

Peter smiled weakly and nodded. "Ok."

That night, Peter woke up shaking, his blankets twisted around his legs. He was breathing hard and he grabbed the side of his bed to steady himself, taking big gulping breaths. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and sat up slowly, squeezing his eyes shut and blinking. 

Then he reached for his mask. With trembling fingers he pulled it on over his head, trying to steady his breathing. 

"Karen-"

The A.I. already knew. 

_"Connecting now."_

"Thanks Karen," Peter breathed a sigh of relief. When the line picked up Peter tried to hard not to let his voice shake.

"Tony?"

_"Hey kid."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully not too bad. please lmk down in comments and don't forget kudos! Stay tuned!!!  
Love you 3000


	4. Misunderstandings and Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've had a couple of requests to do this one and to be honest I'm kind of excited. It's cliche and generic, but I don't care because Irondad. Sue me. Peter has to sneak into the Avengers Compound and is caught by Team Cap who has no idea who he is and mistakes him for an intruder. Peter obviously can kick half of their butts, but that doesn't help his case. A bunchhhh of whump because Team Cap are jerks, and a furious Tony who walks in to put a stop to the crazy. What an awkward introduction. And also just remember Peter is still pissed at Steve, and does want to kill him, so that doesn't help. All these stories kinda connect!!! (Unless I'm lying for the last one. We'll see XD)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sooooooo sorry about the wait. I feel like I've been saying that a lot. I hope this one's worth it tho! Enjoy!

"Tony seriously," Peter laughed, webbing the wall and swinging over. "Just tell me."

"Kid it's ok, really. I'll tell you later," Tony said, smirking a bit. 

Peter raised an eyebrow, blocking his path as he tried to leave the room. 

"Please?" he asked.

Tony put his hands on Peter's shoulders and moved him sideways until they had switched positions. "Not yet."

"Is it a surprise? Is that why you can't tell me?" Peter said, following him as he walked down the hallway with Tony. 

Tony paused, contemplating this. "In a way, yeah."

"Bad surprise or good surprise?" Peter grinned. He was probably planning something. "Come onnnnn Mr. Stark," Peter said. 

"Peter it's fine. I'll tell you later," Tony said, his voice losing it's happiness, his face becoming slack. The man ran a hand over his face, taking a shuddery breath and Peter's grin slowly faded as well. 

"Tony?" Peter asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

Tony looked up at him with a weary fake smile, "Ross called me today."

Peter waited, knowing that wasn't the full story.

"The government has been in contact with the rogues recently. All the media attention the Avengers 'civil war' got wasn't taken lightly. They want confidence in the program again. So they called the other half of the team and talked. And they're bringing them in."

"Well that's good then," Peter said, "They're going to jail?"

"No," Tony shook his head. "They're bringing them here. Ross said it would be the best option, for us to try and...work things out."

Peter's heart stopped. "Here? As in, the compound here."

"Yeah," Tony ran a hand over his face. "I should have said no but with all the pressure- I can't let my 'ego' get in the way of doing what's right for the people we really fight for."

Peter was disgusted. Tony had actually started to believe the people that ratted on him, bruised his pride, beat him to a pulp- he was actually willing to give these people a second chance. Peter wasn't. 

"Did you and Cap talk?" Peter said with hardly any emotion, not knowing what else to say. Tony looked miserable.

"No," Tony said quietly, shaking his head. "No. And I don't know how to start that conversation."

"You don't start it," Peter snaps. "He better come to you and apologize."

Tony gave him a loving smile, as if what Peter said was funny. "You're young kid. You're innocent and I admire that. But we don't always get the apology we want in life. Cap still thinks he did nothing wrong."

Peter was fuming now. If Cap thinks he can just waltz back in as if nothing is wrong, and enter back into their lives into _his _home as the cowardly 2 faced leader he's pretending to be, he's wrong. He's not getting anywhere near Tony, not if Peter can help it. If he ever had the opportunity, Cap was going to wish he didn't set foot onto this compound. As fury boiled in his chest, Peter started shaking, fury in his eyes.

At this point, Peter's hand that was gripping the wall started to tighten and he suddenly felt Tony's hand on his shoulder.

"I'd prefer you not break my wall," Tony said gently, humor evident in his tone. 

Peter looked over at his hand, his knuckles white, a small crack already forming. Cursing his super strength, he released it and dropped his hand to his side, looking up guiltily, "Sorry."

"Don't," Tony shook his head with a small smile, watching Peter's expression. Then he paused, "And no."

"What?" Peter knit his brow, his head snapping back to face the man. 

"I know where your thoughts were going Peter. You can't do that to Cap."

"He hurt you," Peter gasped out angrily. 

"I know he did-" Tony tried to stop him. 

"No. No- you don't know. You don't know how it felt to get that call from you that night and sprint halfway across the city to the compound. I still beat myself up for not going faster and when I got there they held me back and I was afraid I wouldn't get through and when I did, only to find Pepper crying-"

Peter took a breath, shifting his weight as he gulped down a sob, "I didn't know what to do. I was so scared I would screw up and then FRIDAY didn't have you on radar. I had just started learning the tech and then I had to try and get halfway across the world hoping you weren't dead because we had no information on how bad you were hurt- a 2 hour plane ride hoping the one person who actually cared about me other than May was dying...the one person who I trusted, who trusted me with their life, who was like a father I never had- dying while I was sitting in a fricking plane trying to breathe. I was so scared Tony and when I finally found you after searching for 10 minutes worried I had skipped over you and left you to die because I wasn't good enough-"

Peter shook his head, tears building in his eyes, "And when I saw what he did to you..."

"I carried you out of there. Your blood was on my suit. You were freezing. You could barely breath. I had just started to get close to you Tony and that night- that night I thought I was going to lose you. And that's selfish I know so I'll stop being selfish for a minute. I know you have nightmares." Peter blinks through his tears.

"I know you still have nightmares from that fight. I know you wake up screaming when Pepper isn't there. And I know you don't sleep. You don't eat as much anymore. You told me yourself you have panic attacks and I'm pretty sure they're not only about New York."

He stopped himself, watching as Tony's face screwed up. Crap. Had he gone too far? Curse his big mouth, Peter needed to just stop talking. 

"I- I'm sorry-" Peter mumbled but he was suddenly pulled forward. Tony wrapped his arms around him and hugged him. 

It took Peter a minute to get over his shock before he finally returned the hug. "Oh, this is nice." He sunk into the embrace and then Tony pulled away, holding him at arms length. 

Peter gave a tiny smile, remembering the 'hug' in the car, when Tony had stated that he was just opening the door for him. They hadn't been 'there' yet. Peter guessed they were there now. 

They exchanged a look. The look finished the entire conversation and Peter understood now. He didn't know how he understood, or how he even heard Tony's voice and knew exactly what he meant even though he hadn't actually spoken. But Peter nodded and Tony nodded back. 

Then he cleared his throat, "Now listen up Parker. Ground rules."

"Mhm," Peter mumbled. 

"You can't kill him. Any of them. Got it?" Tony pointed at him, doing his signature eyebrow raise. 

"That's it?" Peter grinned. 

"Or seriously maim, hurt, all that stuff. No. Ok?"

"Ok," Peter grumbled, "Fine."

"Good. Now let's go. You up for some blaster accuracy tests? I want to shoot something," Tony smirked. 

Peter finished his homework late. It was a Friday night, meaning he would spend the weekend over at Tony's. It was 8 oclock and Peter cursed. He went to text Tony and found his phone dead. Peter groaned and grabbed his backpack, shoving an extra pair of clothes in it. Everything else he needed was in his room at the tower. 

He found May and gave her a kiss, "I'm heading to the compound."

"This late?" She gave him a look. 

"I'll be fine May," he laughed, wiggling his eyebrows, "I'm Spiderman."

"Tony's doing a number on your ego," she flicked his arm and Peter laughed.

"I'll be back Sunday night. Good luck tomorrow, and have fun at that charity event," he called. 

"Super fun," May joked. "Be safe. Love you!"

Peter grabbed his keys and badge, "Love you too!" 

He shut the door behind him and made sure no one was coming. He webbed the top of the ceiling and then jumped down the stairs through the center, landing and releasing the web with a grin before he spun out the door and into the New York night. Peter slipped into an alleyway and changed into his suit, shoving his clothes and web shooters into his bag along with his phone. He put on his mask and jumped around, loosening his muscles. 

"Hey Karen," he said cheerfully. 

_"Hi Peter. Going this late?"_

"Why not. Fastest route?"

_"You got it."_

Peter swung, pulling his backpack straps to tighten them as he launched himself into the air. It was a peaceful night. Peter stopped 3 times to take a picture and once to help someone who's purse was stolen, so he only had a 6 minute delay. It was nearing 9 when Peter finally reached the compound's entrance. He took off his mask and put in his bag, shoving back on his clothes over his suit out of sight of the front gate. He hopped into his shoes and then started walking. 

"Hey Freddie!" Peter called. 

"Mr. Parker? Here so late?" Freddie, the security guard grinned. He had been one of the gaurds who had unknowingly held Peter back many months ago, but Peter had since then made friends with him. He knew Peter was a mentee of Tony's and they had since greeted each other each time he visited the compound. 

"You walk here again?" Freddie marveled. 

"Took a cab halfway," Peter lied. Freddie shook his head, grinning as Peter gave him his badge. 

"Good to go Mr. Parker," he handed it back. 

"Bye Freddie," Peter laughed, staring the walk on the long driveway. If Tony found out he had been walking to the compound he would kill him, and probably send a car, but Peter liked his walk whenever he came. It was quiet and coming up over the hill to look at the massive complex was a sight that nothing could beat. The moon was shining on the glass panels, the security lights and tarmac lights sparkling against the black sky. Stars were still visible and there was a soft breeze. It was a beautiful collection of buildings, with winding roads and perfect grass. The lake sparkled behind it, the water rippling softly. 

Peter grinned and tucked his badge back into his bag as he walked, feeling around for his key card. 

Crap. 

He just made it to the front door when he realized he had left it at home. Peter knew exactly where it was too, which pissed him off- sitting on his chemistry book. Peter groaned and bit his lip. 

He snuck around the to side, putting on his mask. 

"Karen, I know you said not to do this again, but I forgot my keycard. Don't alert FRIDAY ok? Just one more time. Please?" Peter pleaded. 

There was a pause. _"Fine."_

"Thanks Karen. You're the best."

Peter shot a web to the top of the building and swung up, landing lightly on the glass and crawling up. He found the window he always left unlocked and gently opened it, sliding in and shutting it behind him. 

Why was this light on? This light was never on. Peter immediately dropped to the ground and listened. It was too quiet. He crept forward slowly when suddenly there was movement from his right side and Peter's spider senses tingled. He jumped to the ceiling as someone attempted to tackle where he had just been. Peter dropped to the ground and then hit the ground hard and something swung over his head. He rolled away and ducked again and something else swiped. 

"What the heck?" Peter yelped.

Someone came at him again and Peter caught the metal arm that swung at his head. Oh sh-

Another fist hit him right in the face, and Peter felt blood spurt in the mask, his nose probably breaking. Now he was angry.

Peter tossed Bucky aside effortlessly and then jumped to the side as Natasha tried to tackle him. Sam rolled and threw a punch and Peter blocked it, twisting his arm and pushing him lightly back. An arrow sliced through the air and Peter easily avoided it, but wasn't counting on the kick that came from behind. He rolled with the hit, jumping back up to his feet and webbing Natasha's arm that had some sort of zappy thing- that was cool- to the wall before she could swing. Then Hawkeye came at him on the right, getting one punch right to his face, probably leaving a black eye.

"Screw you," Peter sighed. He batted Clint's bow away that came at him and pushed him back. The man stumbled and Peter webbed the couch. Pulling it forward, Clint fell backward into it and then Peter kicked the edge, sending it into the 3 rogues that were just advancing. It hit them in the knees, toppling them all forward and Clint groaned as they all piled onto the furniture on top of him. 

With Bucky, Sam, and Clint down, and Natasha against the wall, Peter put up his hands and shouted, "Look- wait-"

Suddenly he couldn't move. A weird feeling came over him and suddenly red energy surrounded him. Peter cursed and struggled as he was forced to his knees. He resisted as hard as he could and Wanda came out of hiding, her face screwing up in concentration. Peter pushed back harder, gritting his teeth and Wanda surged with her other hand, rather surprised at his strength. 

Peter had been so focused on her, he had been ignoring his spider senses which he realized were tingling. He looked back and braced, wondering how much this was going to hurt. The shield swung hard against his forehead, connected, and Peter's eyes rolled into the back of his head. He went limp and hit the floor.

"I'll get Tony."

"I'll come with you."

"Don't hurt him."

"You fell on my groin."

"He's an intruder!"

"He pushed a couch into me, that's not my fault."

"He tried to kill us!"

Peter woke up. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing even. He didn't want them to know he was awake yet. He tried his wrists very gently and found they were tied together behind him. So were his ankles. He was sitting in a hard chair. His mask was gone. 

"He sounded 15."

"He looks 15."

"He's probably a government Agent."

"He's got super strength."

"Maybe I should-" Footsteps approached him and Peter was done playing pretend. 

He lifted his chin and grumbled, "You touch me, I kill you." Probably not the best thing to say. 

Whoever was walking forward stopped. Peter groaned and blinked, his head spinning, his vision focusing.

"I'll get Tony."

That was Natasha who said that, her red hair as fierce as her gaze. Peter grinned, "You do that. See how well that works out for you. Welcome back by the way. Tony's a huge fan of the way, you know, you ditched him?"

Natasha's gaze broke for one second and Peter felt a slight twinge of regret for saying that, now that he knew that it hurt her. There was an understanding in their gazes and Natasha showed she forgave him. 

"Go," Cap said, nodding at her and Wanda who left the room. 

Peter tried his bonds and realized it wasn't rope, it was cuffs. With Wanda out of the picture he could definitely take these freaks, but not in this chair. Now Peter had broken cuffs before, easily, so why weren't they shattering? He yanked on them again and his frustration must have shown. 

"Vibranium cuffs," Cap said. 

Peter faked a smile, "Wow, you guys think of everything? Have a habit of tying up good guys?"

"Good guys?" Sam snorted. "You broke in here."

"It's my house!" Peter exclaimed. 

"Yeah right," Clint snorted. "No offense kid, but that's a lousy excuse."

"Where's my mask?" Peter growled, eager to change the subject. There was no arguing with these guys. They wouldn't believe him. 

"Over there," Cap nodded to his left. It was on the chair. 

"Petty. You took it off," Peter snarled. 

"I wanted to see the face of the person who attacked me," Cap crossed his arms. 

"I didn't-" Peter fought back, "Metal arm over there threw the first punch!"

Bucky started forward angrily and Sam put a hand on his chest. The Winter Solider clearly didn't like that but he stopped advancing, glaring at Peter. 

Peter winked, "Yeah easy there. Manchurian Candidate needs to take a chill pill."

"That's enough," Cap said firmly. 

"Or what?" Peter challenged. 

"You just don't stop do you kid?" Clint marveled. 

Cap crouched in front of him and Peter narrowed his eyes, his lip curling with hate. "Get away from me."

"He doesn't like you Cap," Sam said, watching Peter carefully 

"Wow. Is that Sherlock over there?" Peter asked. 

Clint laughed, "Kid's got spunk."

"I'm not a kid," Peter narrowed his eyes. 

"How old are you?" Cap asked. "A little on the young side, aren't you Queens?"

Peter flinched at the nickname before he cocked his head mockingly, "We really comparing age? You're what, 100?"

Cap laughed and looked down and Peter gave him a fake smile. 

"Why were you breaking in here?" Sam asked, like it was some interrogation. 

"Is this like a good cop, bad cop thing? I know what you're doing. I watch Criminal Minds," Peter grinned. 

Cap balled his fist and Peter stared him down, daring him to do it. He wiggled his eyebrows. 

"Don't test me kid," Cap warned. "You took a punch at the airport. I know you can handle it."

"So then go for it," Peter taunted, "give it your best shot. Or do you not have the guts? I mean, you have the guts to come back here, after what you did. After what you did to Tony? Does the team know? Or is that another secret that you kept from them. Like not telling Tony about his parents?"

"Keep talking kid," Cap warned.

"You're a liar Steve, and a coward. You ran when it was tough, you whined when you were told you couldn't do something, and you sacrificed the safety of millions without a single thought. You told Tony once that he wasn't the person to lay down on the wire. Well he did. Multiple times. And then what did you do? Right as he got up, you shoved him back down again and walked over him. You don't give a crap about him, about the Avengers-"

Cap brought back his fist with fury. 

_FWABAM_

The door burst open and a violent beam of light hit the floor right at Cap's feet and he stumbled backward in shock.

"You touch him and I will kill you Rogers," Tony seethed. 

"Hey Tony," Peter greeted. "Didn't tell me we had company. They're super nice."

Tony's gaze fell on him in relief and he almost cracked a smile if it hadn't been for the anger. 

Wanda and Natasha ran in a couple tense seconds later, breathing hard. 

"Pete, you ok?" Tony asked.

"Yep," Peter said firmly, his glare still on Cap. 

"Good." Tony stormed in, pushing past Sam and Clint, and shooting a look that could kill in Steve's direction. "Mother-" Tony cupped Peter's cheek, noticing the bruise on his eye and the dried blood from his broken nose. 

"I'm fine Tony," Peter assured him. 

"Fine?" Tony spluttered, about to blow up.

"You know this kid?" Steve demanded. 

Peter saw the wave of anger rise up and fill Tony's face and he winced as Tony straightened and took one stride to get into Steve's face. "Rogers, I am _this _close to blasting you into the other room. Do _not_ talk to me right now," Tony hissed at him. Cap knew his place and backed down in shock. 

Instead Sam spoke up, "You know him?"

"Yeah," Tony said sarcastically. "He's _my_ kid."

"But he broke in-" Clint spluttered. 

"It's _his house_," Tony shouted. "He probably forgot the key card again." Tony glared at Peter who's expression slackened and he looked up guiltily. The Avengers' jaws dropped when they realized he had been telling the truth. 

"Ever wonder why he picked the exact window that was open? Or got past my top notch security?"

Silence. 

"May texted me that your phone was dead," Tony said to Peter.

"Yeah. I forgot to charge it," Peter admitted.

Tony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Maybe if you didn't have a iPhone -2 it wouldn't die as quickly-"

"I don't need a new one-" Peter protested. 

"Tony," Natasha cut in. 

"Right." Tony's glare was back and he aimed it at every single on the Avengers in the room, all with shocked looks on their face that he was carrying a conversation with this kid in the middle of this. 

Tony walked behind Peter and blasted through his cuffs with a magnetic beam, releasing his wrists and ankle. The other clasp hung on by a section. Just to prove his strength, Peter grabbed the edges and ripped them apart, before getting to his feet. He webbed his mask and backpack and they landed in his hands without even looking. Tony put an arm around him and they walked towards the door, the rest of the Avengers parting silently. 

Tony turned right before they left. "If any of you _ever, EVER_, hurt him again, you're out. You're done. Got it?" 

The Avenger's looked at one another, a ripple of understanding passing through every one because of the intensity in Tony's gaze and the promise in his tone. 

"Good," Tony said through gritted teeth, "have a nice night."

"Nice meeting you!" Peter called, getting dragged away by Tony who actually cracked a smile and burst out laughing. Peter webbed and slammed the door shut behind them.

"You're gonna get yourself killed one day kid," Tony said, his arm firm around his shoulder. 

"Nah," Peter grinned. 

"Are you ok?" Tony asked firmly, once they got into the elevator.

"Yeah," Peter said.

"I should kick them out. They had no right- I was stupid to bring them here- I'll talk with Ross in the morning," Tony started muttering.

"Tony- Tony!" Peter grabbed his shoulder, "It's ok. It was a misunderstanding. A mistake. I hate them too, but I'm ok."

"They hurt you," Tony snarled, the anger kicking in, and he looked almost ready to march back up there and kill every single one of them. For some reason, Peter didn't want him to.

He grabbed Tony's arm tighter, "Hey. Hey. I'm fine, I promise. Just hurts a bit, I'll be fine by the morning. You can't get rid of them. You know you can't."

Tony fumed, "I could beat the crap out of them."

"You could..." Peter nodded, "But that wouldn't help."

"Mhm," Tony grumbled, still a ticking time bomb. "I'm sorry. I should have told you they were here, just it was all so crazy and quick, and then I got May's message late and didn't think to track your suit once your phone was out of power-"

"You track my phone?" Peter spluttered. 

"May's request, not mine. She put me on that app of hers since you spend as much time here as you do there," Tony put up his hands in surrender. 

Peter groaned, "Mayyyy."

"She just wants you safe," Tony assured him, "And so do I. I'm sorry kid."

"Don't," Peter shook his head. "I'm fine."

"How bad is it," Tony turned him to look at his bruised face and broken nose, a wave of pain and guilt washing over the man's face as he saw the damage. 

"Headache is worst," Peter admitted. 

"Let's get you cleaned up," Tony squeezed his shoulder. 

"I didn't kill them," Peter said cheerfully. 

"No you didn't kid," Tony laughed. "I'm proud of you."

Peter grinned. 

Peter woke up the next day and groaned, wincing as he touched the bruise under his eye. His nose was healing, just bleeding every once in a while, and he still had the headache. That shield had probably given him a concussion. 

He rolled out of bed and walked downstairs to the kitchen, yawning. Scrunching his eyes shut because of the bright light he made his way to the cabinet, grabbing some cereal and milk. He sleepily got a bowl and poured them both in, cereal first because people who pour milk first are weird. Then he got a spoon and turned around to go sit at the dining table- which was full. 

Cap, Bucky, Nat, Sam, Clint, and Wanda were all staring at him. 

Peter suppressed a look of hate and sighed, "What, is there something on my face?" Then he grinned, "Oh right. Black eye. Good punch," he nodded at Clint who looked at him in shock.

Cap stood up, "I know we didn't meet properly-"

"I'll say," Peter snorted. Natasha cracked a smile and lowered her head to hide it. 

"I'm sorry kid. We overreacted," Steve finished sincerely. 

"Oh so you don't usually beat and tie up the first person you see assuming they're an intruder? Good to know," Peter nodded, taking a bit of cereal. 

Sam smirked, "You got fire kid. I see why Tony keeps you around."

Peter raised an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, that's another thing," Natasha piped up. "I've known Tony for a long time. Longer than any of these losers. He never had a kid. But he called you his kid. Are you...adopted?"

"No," Peter said simply. 

"But you're not his biological kid either?" Wanda asked for clarification.

"No," Peter said again.

"Told you," Bucky whispered to Sam. 

"What did you guys assume that he wouldn't have a kid?" Peter snapped, looking from face to face. Their expression gave away the answer. They obviously had suspected exactly that.

"Why?" Peter asked.

Cap made a face, "Kid, I know you think you know him, but Tony isn't all good."

"This is coming from the man who put a shield in his chest after lying to him? Go on," Peter said coldly, setting down his bowl of cereal. 

Cap's expression slackened and a wave of guilt washed away as soon as it rose up. 

"All Tony's ever done is sacrificed himself to help you guys. He did everything for the team. He went through so much crap in his life, even before he became an Avenger but you all refuse to take that into account, but then use other backstory's as an excuse for their actions. Tony never asked for an excuse. He never wanted this to happen. If you picture him as a bad guy in any situation, you're the ones who don't know him."

"We know him really well," Cap said firmly. 

"Oh yeah?" Peter challenged, "Go for it. Fill me in on Tony Stark."

"He drinks when he's faced with a problem, has no limits. His ego is through the roof and he's never been a team player. He stretches to get what he wants, refusing to compromise with anything. He thinks he's doing the right thing but won't let people think for themselves. He doesn't take responsibility for his actions and he is cocky and overconfident which undermines his decision making."

"Let me ask you one question before I start," Peter said, anger boiling up in his chest. "What's his favorite color?"

Cap snorted, "I don't know his-"

"Exactly. So you're telling me that you can make all those accusations about him without even knowing the first thing someone asks a person when they become friends? You two were friends right? But you don't know something as simple as his favorite color."

"It's red," Natasha said quietly, smiling a bit. "He told me once."

"Hot rod red actually. The color of his suit," Peter corrected, nodding fondly at her. "Now I'll correct you. You said Tony drinks but he's been sober for almost a year and a half now. He is more of a team player than any of you are. Did you know he built this compound for you? He built it even after the airport battle with rooms for every single one of you in hopes that you all would come back some day. He was the one who wanted to compromise with the Accords. You didn't care that he fought to protect Wanda. The government authorities wanted to put her jail the minute she got back to the States but he forbid it. He fought for her, he bought you time, with 50 higher officials breathing down his neck-"

Peter laughed with no humor, "He didn't sleep at all that week. He spent every moment trying to find a loophole, trying to buy you all time, and trying to get the government to loosen the hold. He gave Scott and Clint those house arrest deals, that was him."

Peter shrugged, "All he wanted was for you all to stay together. General Ross was ready to kill you. Instead, Tony asked if he could bring you in under no charges and get another chance to talk to you. Do you know how much trouble he got in when you escaped? Did you know he was the reason that Bucky was pronounced innocent in the whole world? Even after he found out that you hid the fact that he killed his parents?"

"As for responsibility for his actions?" Peter laughed, "he's constantly degrading himself, believing what people like you say about him behind his back. He gets 9 hours of sleep a week because he's constantly in that lab, trying to rebuild and make things better and safer. He gets nightmares and panic attacks from New York and Sokovia. The whole reason why he wanted the accords was because he took responsibility for Sokovia and didn't want it to happen again," Peter snapped. 

"He's cocky and sarcastic and maybe that's why I get it from. But at least he's not a coward. And at least he didn't betray his friends." Peter set his bowl of cereal into the sink, not hungry anymore. 

"So _you _are the ones who don't know Tony Stark," Peter corrected. He walked out and then stopped and turned around, "But hey, no hard feelings about last night. As far as I'm concerned, you all are back and we just met."

The rogues looked slightly relieved at that. A few of them nodded respectfully.

Then Peter's face went cold and he narrowed his eyes. "But if any of you try and hurt him again..." Peter shook his head angrily, his eyes flicking to one person. "Especially you Steve. I found him that night, in Siberia."

Steve shifted uncomfortably.

Peter's voice was shaking slightly, "I was the one who had to drag him back to the jet where Pepper was waiting. You're lucky I don't kill you right now and you're even luckier that Mrs. Potts doesn't. If I even see you looking at him the wrong way..." He trailed off.

"Have a nice breakfast," Peter said. 

"I get what Tony meant by his kid now," Clint said, letting out a breath he had been holding. "I think this is the first time I've been scared by a teenager."

The rest of the rogues nodded in agreement, watching as Peter turned the corner and walked off down the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Let me know <3 I love hearing your comments  
Stay tuned for final Chapter!  
Love you 3000 :)


	5. Sacrifices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all. Basically Peter and Tony trying to sacrifice themselves for one another every change they get because it's Tony and Peter come on. Last chapter, hope you enjoy!

**Sunday Morning**

Peter yawned and stretched, pushing the covers to the side where they were wrapped around his legs. He moved the Stark Industries sweatshirt to the side, rubbing his eyes. 

"Karen, time?"

_"Due to the 'Look at Your Clock' protocol, I can't answer that question Peter,"_ Karen said.

Peter groaned, "Tony! Messing with my suit again. Shut up Karen."

_"I didn't say anything."_

"I swear you were smiling," Peter laughed, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He webbed his watch, that he had taken off the other night, and it flew into his hand. 9:17 am. Peter flopped down onto the bed just in the opposite direction, burying his face in his sweatshirt. 

"Who's up?" He asked, kicking his feet against the top bunk. (One of the perks of having an A.I.)

_"Steve Rogers, Sam, Bucky, and Rhodey."_

Peter made a face. 

_"I sense discomfort,"_ Karen noted. 

"Yeah, not a fan of Cap. Especially after 2 nights ago," Peter said, prodding his eye which was mostly healed. He sniffed and still felt pain in his nose which made him scowl. 

_"You did not get off on the right foot with him,"_ Karen agreed. 

"Yeah well," Peter snorted, remembering being cuffed to the chair. Then his expression darkened, "But I didn't even care about that. His first and biggest mistake was hurting Tony," Peter growled before he could stop himself. He quickly backed himself up, "Because you know, it was mean and uncalled for. They were friends and he- yeah-" he trailed off. 

Karen was probably smiling again. 

"When he's not in the suit it's my job to protect him," Peter protested to no one in particular. Again Karen didn't answer and Peter groaned, laughing, "God Karen, shut up. I know, I know, you're not saying anything."

He sat up, "How about we give Rhodes some backup. He's outnumbered," Peter decided after a minute of thinking. He flipped out of bed and slapped the tech bracelet he and Tony had made the other day onto his wrist. "You there Karen?"

_"Yep. It works perfectly."_

Peter grinned, thrilled that his A.I. was now portable without being in the suit. He opened his door, walking down the hallway. When he got to the kitchen, he immediately locked eyes with Rhodes who looked relieved to see him. 

"Hey Peter," he greeted. 

"Hey," Peter said back cheerfully, before giving the other 3 present beings a nod. Maybe he could give them the cold shoulder, that would be funny- no. Tony said be nice. Crap. 

"Sleep well?" Rhodes said, sipping from a cup of coffee. 

"Always do," Peter shrugged him off. "What are you guys talking about?"

Cap gave him a look of apology that Peter saw but tucked away, showing no change in expression. "Discussing just some Avenger initiatives."

"Oh cool, what about?" Peter asked, setting his forearms down on the counter and wiggling his eyebrows. 

Cap gave Rhodes a sideways look before looking at Sam and Bucky, both looking equally as confused. Steve eventually stuttered, "Well kid, it's not really for me to discuss-"

"Oh don't worry, I'm an Avenger," Peter grinned, dropping that bomb on him. He got a cup and poured himself some coffee while talking. 

"In training," Tony corrected, walking into the kitchen with a smile on his face and picking the coffee out of Peter's hands, "Thank you." Then he winked, "You're not there yet." 

"Same thing," Peter rolled his eyes, frowning at the fact that Tony wouldn't let him have coffee.

"Kid turned the place down the first time I asked," Tony winked. 

"I thought it was a test, that wasn't fair," Peter groaned, covering her head with his hands. 

"No offense Peter," Steve said slowly, "but aren't you a little young to be-"

"To be an Avenger? Sure. I mean unless you're an expert on thermonuclear physics which I'm learning right now or unless you know how to reroute a electric current through a hyperstatic or statically indeterminate cage. Then sure maybe I'm not fit for the team, but I'd say I'm ahead of my game," Peter said fluently, taking a sip of the coffee Tony had left open on the table. 

Tony put his hands on Peter's shoulders, "That's my boy." Then he swiped the coffee again and Peter groaned but grinned. The last time he had drank a cup he was doing flips down the hallway. He guessed it had something to do with his abilities, since they were already dialed to 11, caffeine didn't help. 

"Yeah, you lost me Peter," Rhodey laughed. 

"Science isn't everything," Bucky spoke up, his eyes flicking nervously around the table. 

"Right, it's not," Peter agreed, nodding. "So if I need help on my history notes from 1950's, I'll make sure I come to you." Tony choked on his coffee, trying to hide his smile. 

"All right, all right," Rhodes grinned nervously to ease the tension, well aware the banter was escalating and that there was definitely anger behind the joking words. "So what's on tap for today?"

"Well-"

"How about a training session?" Natasha suggested, suddenly walking in. She nodded at Tony with a small smile and he nodded back. Peter gave her an eyebrow raise as kind as he could. "I think it would be good to try and...get back into things."

That tightened Tony's smile, but he reluctantly nodded. "Is everyone up?" he asked. Cap shook his head. 

"Clint and-"

"FRIDAY play wake up call, full building," Tony called. 

Black Sabbath's Iron Man blasted through the speakers. Tony grinned, "Well they're up now. I'll send out a memo. Meet in training room in 20. Breakfast after."

Peter got to his feet, pushing back his chair. 

"Go easy on em' kid," Tony grinned, punching his shoulder. 

"Sure. No killing or maiming. But that's it," Peter grinned and they walked down separate hallways. 

It took Peter only 10 minutes to get ready so he decided to go down early. As soon as he walked into the room, he wished he hadn't. Cap was pacing in front of the door and Peter tried to silently back out before he realized that was rude and May (and Tony) had taught him better than that. He bit his lip, pulled off his mask and walked in.

"If you're only staying to be polite, then I won't take offense if you walk out," Cap said without looking at him. 

Peter seriously considered it. Instead he crossed his arms and stayed silent. 

Cap spun around then, looking at his feet, "I know you won't forgive me. I'm ok with that. I made a mistake. I hurt Tony-"

"You almost killed him," Peter snapped. 

"I know!" Cap shouted and Peter took a step back. "I-I know. I messed up. I don't know why Tony's forgiven me, or is pretending to- and I don't know why he said yes to letting us stay here...I figured I would be the last person he would want to see."

"You are," Peter said coldly. 

Cap laughed lightly without humor. "I know. But what you said, of how Tony's changed. You're right. Everyone changes, I just guess I was for the worse. I was too caught up in my own problems to recognize the fact that I was hurting others. Hurting my friends."

Peter was tired of being an outlet and he blurted, "I'm not a therapist."

"I know you aren't," Steve agreed. 

Peter frowned. "Then why are you telling me this?"

"I'm apologizing," Steve said. 

"Why? Why to me?" 

"Because I can't face Tony," Steve said quietly. 

There was the kicker. Peter wasn't expecting that. 

"Whenever I look at him he reminds me of what I did to him, the choices I made- leaving him there, he reminds he of my failures, of my mistakes. I've tried to run from them, I did run from them, and seeing him now, remembering what I did-" Steve shakes his head and stares into the long glass windows. "I still believe what I do about the Accords but to this day I regret what I did to get my point across."

"Grow up," Peter scoffed. 

Steve recoiled, "What?"

"Grow up. This is what you do. You made every apology into a speech. You fill it with justification. You always want to have the last word. I heard the message you sent to Tony and it was crap. If you're still trying to prove yourself right then that's not an apology Steve, and you don't get that. At least you left him a phone, and you know what? You probably think he threw it away. He hasn't. He's carried it everywhere, but hasn't called because he is not the one who should. You were in the wrong, you should have dialed the dang number. And now you're here, and the great Captain America, who can fight Nazi's and get tossed out a window a million stories up, an idol to little kids, can't face an old _best_ friend because he's too scared of his mistakes?" 

Peter hadn't realized how angry he had come across as, actually getting 2 steps closer to Steve while talking. 

Steve cleared his throat but never said anything. Instead he nodded. Peter hated that. He couldn't be mad at someone who accepted they were wrong. Actually it just made him more mad, but for different reasons. Peter found himself nodding fiercely back and then he and Cap turned to face the windows. There was a silent agreement that came between them, and then the quiet returned for a couple minutes, Steve and Peter both staring out the glass that revealed the massive training center. 

"I'm sorry for that night when we cuffed you," Steve then said about a minute later.

"Sorry for kicking your butts," Peter responded. 

Steve smirked. Then Peter looked down in alarm at the notice of his mask's eyes lighting up. He hurriedly shoved it on, "Karen? What's wrong?"

_"Peter, something's-"_

Peter put a hand to his ear, trying to hear better, his brow creasing with confusion. He never had connection issues with her, this tech was top notch. 

"What?" he said out loud and Steve turned to look at him. 

"Peter what-"

"Sh," Peter snapped, "Karen what's going on?"

_"FRIDAY just got temporarily disconnected by an outside form of technology."_

"What? When?" Peter asked urgently.

_"A minute ag-" _Silence_. "I'm being jammed. They're hacking into power. Something- 's- Peter- tell-" _

"Karen? Karen!" Peter asked. 

The lights suddenly shut down in the entire room. 

"What the-" Steve said, spinning around. The backup generator turned on, all the lights blinking red. 

_"Pet- er- Peter!" _

"Yeah Karen, go! I can hear you," Peter said worriedly.

_"Attack coming in from East side I'm losing contact, I don't know how long- you have to reboot the main power source and override the central command- basic- get FRIDAY back onlin- I'm-"_

She cut off. 

Peter yanked off his dead mask. "Steve we've got to-"

_BOOM_

The entire building shook, the glass windows shattering behind them. The floor shifted, sending Peter and Steve tumbling into the far wall, sliding with the bits of glass. Steve offered a hand to help Peter up but he ignored it, getting to his feet on his own and wincing as one of the bigger shards cut through his suit by his palm. 

"We have to get to the labs. Now," Peter said, and he sprinted down the hallway, Steve catching up to him a second later.

"What the heck is going on?" Steve yelled, whipping out his shield. 

"Someone's attacking the compound. FRIDAY's offline. We need to get police out here now. I have to reboot FRIDAY- where's Tony?" 

"Nat went off with him down the hallway," Steve recalled. 

"Keep up," Peter demanded, shoving on his mask once they were out of the safety of a closed hallway. 

"Alright Queens," Steve said, picking up his pace. 

They skidded around a corner and Peter slowed to a stop in the lobby. The front door was shaking and it suddenly broke down, men with- holy crap those were some big guns- entering. Steve readied his shield. 

"Kid? Go get Tony and the others. Now. Go."

"Steve-" Peter hesitated, backing away. 

"I said go," Steve snarled fiercely. Peter nodded and sprinted away, but not before he shot a web grenade at the center of the approaching mob and drew 5 of the men to follow him up the stairs. Peter swung up to the next level, satisfied by the pound of footsteps of the people chasing after him.

He waited and then lunged out, drop kicking the first two and jumping to the ceiling as they tried to fire and webbing two men into one another. Peter flipped and dropped into a crouch, swiping the one man's legs out from under him and webbing the nearby planter.

"Sorry Mrs. Potts," he groaned, swinging into the head of the approaching man and planting a firm kick into the last one who was still functional. He tumbled down the stairs and Peter dropped, ready to strike again. He realized no other kicking butt was necessary and so he continued his sprint the hallway. 

"TONY!" He screamed, spinning into the labs. Empty. He turned and jumped to the ceiling, avoiding a bullet, ready to web someone before he realized who it was. 

"Natasha?" Peter gasped, dropping to the floor and taking off his mask. 

"Sorry," she said breathlessly, lowering her gun. Her lip was cut and she was limping slightly. 

"Are you ok?" he asked. 

"Trust me kid, I've had a lot worse. What's going on?" she asked. 

"I don't know. People with guns came into the lobby. Cap's fighting them. You went with Tony, where's Tony?"

Natasha furrowed her brow, "He needed to get something from the Utility closet."

"Utility closet..." Peter mumbled before his eyes widened and he cried out, "The utility closet! That's on the East side!"

"Hey, Peter, just tell me what to do," Natasha grabbed his shoulders but he was already shrugging her off, jogging backward down the hallway and shoving his mask back on. 

"I need to find Tony. Find the others! Get them out! And- uh- in- in the lab! There are w-wireless connectors. Grab like- 5- they're on the left table. They're blue. Once I get FRIDAY back online we can communicate and find out what we're dealing with."

"I can work on rebooting," Natasha offered. 

"Find everyone first," Peter said and then he shook his head. "And you need Tony for most of it."

"Then you better go get him," she half smiled. "Be safe kid."

"Yeah," Peter turned and sprinted. 

"TONY!" Peter screamed, looking to his left and right. There was pounding of footsteps and Peter jumped to the high ceiling, crawling across it and slipping into the next room. Just in time too; gunfire sounded and he flung open the door, sprinting past an opening, bullets peppering the wall behind him. Peter slid to the ground, firing a web and flinging himself into the next hallway, webbing up the path behind him. Peter burst into the next common room when the wall next to him exploded.

For a minute he couldn't see anything because it was all spinning. He shot a web but it spiraled off and Peter screamed, unable to stop himself. He braced as he tumbled head over heels and slammed into a door on the other side of the room. The impact of the blast threw him through the door, denting the metal and ripping it off it's hinges, crashing into the room and splintering a desk. Peter bounced off, landing on his stomach. He lay amidst the papers that were raining down and Peter groaned, trying to sit up. 

"Ow," Peter groaned, his ears ringing. He staggered to his feet and stumbled out of the room, his ankle throbbing. It was hard to breathe...maybe he did something to his ribs. He ripped off his mask and gasped, coughing from the smoke. The red lamp that was the only source of light in the hallway had shattered and Peter was walking into dark. Then there was light. And it was a bad sign. 

Flashlights. Red dots that appeared right on Peter's chest. 

He cursed and flipped up, narrowly avoiding the bullets that sliced through the air below him. He slipped out of the hallway and sprinted down the other, weaving around the furniture and turning the corner. And when he saw what was at the end his heart stopped. A broken and motionless Iron Man suit lay at the end, the eyes and arc reactor black. 

"NO!" Peter screamed, sprinting as fast as he could down the hallway, tears building up in his eyes. He clenched his mask in his fist and flung himself forward, webbing the high ceiling and dropping a few feet from the suit that was lying awkwardly in the rubble. 

"Tony?" Peter cried, sliding to his knees, his hands hovering over the broken form. He gently touched the arc reactor and a piece of it came off with his sticky hand. He gently touched the helmet and it rolled heavily into his hand. Peter gulped down a sob, his heart clenching up. 

"Oh God- Tony? Hey- Tony!" Peter screamed, his vision becoming blurry. There were bullet holes in his right leg, the metal twisted and his left foot was facing the wrong way. The suit was covered in dust and fragments of concrete. Peter tried to pry off the helmet but only bloodied his fingers. FRIDAY was disconnected; there was no way he could get it open.

"You've got to wake up Tony, you're ok," Peter told him, his voice shaking. He reached to try and move him but before he could his Spider senses tingled. Peter looked over his shoulder weakly, letting his mask drop to his side. 

The man leading the mob of enemies held up a massive gun, leveling it at Peter who didn't move. He turned around, his shoulders slumped and he looked down, curling his hand around Tony's arm. 

"I'm not leaving," Peter said softly, standing and crouching, shooting a web grenade at the approaching men. It barely slowed him down and Peter shot another one, avoiding the few bullets they were able to get off. Peter continued to shoot his webs in vain, knowing there was no way he could defend against the massive gun that was about to be fired. 

He wasn't leaving. 

He saw the man pull his trigger.

_BAM_

For Peter, everything went in slow motion. He saw the massive blast coming and he turned, covering his head and squeezing his eyes shut, wondering how much it was going to hurt. 

_FFFFWWWW_

Peter knew that sound. He looked up to a flash of hot rod red and yellow. A strong arm grabbed him around the waist and spun him, shielding him and holding him tightly to a metal chest. There was a massive explosion in the center from the counter blast connecting with the original one and Peter fell forward, face planting into the concrete.

He groaned and suddenly, whoever had just tackled him got up, dust flying left and right and he spun, firing 3 beams at the remaining people that weren't knocked unconscious. Peter rolled over onto his elbows and looked up. 

The helmet receded to Tony's neck and he glared at Peter, "What the heck were you thinking, kid?" he demanded.

Peter was filled with so many different emotions and he grabbed Tony's hand that offered to help him up. Tony grabbed his shoulder to steady him. 

"You ok Pete?" he asked, recognizing the tears streaking through Peter's dust covered face. 

Peter dove into his chest, hugging him tightly. Tony hugged him back and rested his chin on Peter's messy hair. That was when he saw the Iron Man suit that was half buried with rubble. 

"Oh," Tony said quietly, holding Peter tighter.

Peter finally pulled away, smiling slightly and looking up at Tony who grinned nervously back. Then he got serious, grasping Peter's shoulder, "Next time. You move. Got it?"

Peter didn't answer that. Instead he held up his mask he had been clutching, "FRIDAY and Karen are both down. We need to reboot them from the central lab. Natasha is trying to gather everyone up. I left Cap fighting the first wave that entered. He covered for me," Peter admitted. 

Tony raised an eyebrow at that and then nodded, "Let's get to that lab. I've cleared this wing."

About 10 minutes later, Tony and Peter were flying and swinging down the hallway that led to the lab. Peter slid in, shooting a web grenade to the left that blocked the group of men advancing on that side. The minute they were in Tony manually blasted through the auto lock, providing 4 glasses of steel doors that closed over the bulletproof ones. 

Peter yanked off his mask again, scurrying over to the first computer he could get to and ripping off the panel, re configuring the wires. 

Tony jogged over to the center console, cranking on the central generator which powered up the remaining tech. 

Peter was in the computer and he started to hack, trying to reboot the system. 

"Pete, toss me the-"

"Yep," Peter webbed the lab screen and threw it behind him to Tony who caught in and started typing, exiting the suit that stood guard at the door. Tony's finger flew and he called out, "What's the status on main?"

"10 out of 12 were disabled, but they weren't hacked, they just somehow targeted the main power source," Peter responded, scanning the layers of protection that was scrolling down the screen. 

"At least they weren't smart enough to hack. it. We've got to fix that the minute we get out of this," Tony said. 

Grateful for his positivity Peter started typing in correspondence to Tony before he swung over to the control panel and started reconnecting wires to reboot the signal. Tony tossed him the wire cutter right as Peter opened his mouth to ask for it. They worked in perfect harmony, their eyes and fingers never still. 

"Almost there?" Tony asked about a half a minute later, "I've got main grid back online in 5 seconds."

"Yeah, one second," Peter grimaced, checking it over before shutting the door and stepping back, going back over to his computer and entering the access code. 

"I bypassed their 6 firewalls," Tony said, "ready when you are. On 3?" 

"3," They spoke in unison. 

"Light this baby up," Tony agreed. 

Peter pressed Enter and Tony swiped his password. 

The lights flickered and revved, and the entire compound seemed to come to life. The rest of the tech that was dark around the room lit up and FRIDAY's voice echoed in the room. 

_"All systems back online sir."_

"Good to have you back Fri, tell us what to do."

_"I would advise leaving Lab 6. The door will hold approximately 15 more seconds."_

Tony cursed and opened the back entrance, motioning to Peter. "Let's go. Hurry-"

Suddenly the steel barricades behind them burst off. Peter yelped and dropped to the floor, one barely missing him and instead slamming into Tony who hit the ground hard, pushed through the now open doorway. The second one was a wider curve and it slammed into the exit panel which promptly sparked and began to smoke, the lights dying.

Mandate for exits were that if any of them were disabled, they would shut down, and revert back to their original position. Shut.

Peter made fearful eye contact with Tony who had just sat up. His gaze flicked to the panel, Peter could tell and then back at him within 1 second. 

"No!" Tony yelled, scrambling to his feet. The door slammed automatically shut, trapping Peter inside and Tony out. 

Tony pounded on the door. 

_"Sir, you will not break it with your current weapons,"_ FRIDAY said sadly,_ "And I would advice, despite the circumstances, to save your fire."_

"Shut up and tell me what's going on in there FRIDAY!" Tony yelled, banging uselessly on the door. 

_"I don't know sir. My cameras- they've let off a smoke bomb."_

Tony cursed, "FRIDAY, get me in there. Now."

_"I-"_

Gunshots suddenly fired from inside and Tony cried out, feeling like he was shot himself. His face screwed up with pain and he screamed in denial, blasting the door 3 times in a row before suddenly a panel of ceiling fell down behind him and someone tumbled out, landing on their back with a groan. 

Peter coughed as he yanked off his mask, clouds of dust and smoke rising from his hair. Peter had a lopsided grin on his face but was looking at him weakly, "Hey. Thought I'd drop in."

Tony let out a laugh of relief and he dropped to the ground by the kid's side, grabbing him and pulling him into his chest. Tony clutched the back of his head, rubbing his curls and gently hitting his back as Peter coughed from the smoke. 

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Peter said, leaning weakly against Tony when he helped him to his feet. 

_"Peter-"_

Peter looked down at his mask and shoved it on, he and Tony speaking in unison, "Nat?" 

_"Good you found him."_

_"How you doing Tones?" _That was Rhodey.

"Not dead," Tony grinned. "Where are you guys?"

_"We've got everybody on the main level, backing towards South entrance."_

"Steve too?" Tony asked. 

_"Yeah, he was holding his own against a squad when we found him."_

_"Hey Tony,"_ Steve's voice came across the comms. 

Tony acknowledge it and then spoke, "Get everyone out, we'll meet you by South exit. I already called the police. All systems are online. Happy's getting a chopper ready to pick us up."

_"Copy that."_

"See you in a few."

_"Boss, there's a storm coming in,"_ FRIDAY advised. 

"Can we beat it?" Tony asked.

_"It may cut it close."_

"There are some company cars out back. We could use those," Peter suggested. 

"If they haven't already bugged them," Tony shook his head. "FRIDAY secure all personal files and transfer data to our secure facility. Lock down basement rooms and disable all suits. They aren't getting anything from this place."

_"Done. There's a rather large squad moving on your position, heading for South gate. They're heavily armed."_

"Well let's get there first then kid, we work better in numbers," Tony suggested, his helmet locking down. 

Peter slipped his mask on, glad to have Karen back who greeted him, _"I'm sorry Peter."_

"No Karen, you did great, thanks," Peter said sincerely. "Glad to have you back."

_"Good to be back,"_ Karen responded warmly. 

Tony and Peter swung down the hallway, looking in pain at the damage done to their home. 

"Good for you to finally show up!" Rhodey yelled when they were close enough. 

Tony breathed a sigh of relief and clapped him on the shoulder, grinning. Nat nodded at Peter, winking as she held up the bracelet that was strapped on her wrist. 

"Saved our lives kid," she said proudly.

Peter grinned under the mask, "Happy to help."

Steve and Bucky were in the corner and Tony caught Cap's eye. He took a breath. "Rogers? Heard you got my kid out of there. Thanks."

Cap nodded back, with the slightest glimpse of a smile and he and Tony had a silent understanding. Tony cleared his throat and started walking backward to the door. 

"We need to leave the compound. I'm sending a team in after us, if you want to stay and help, you can. But I'm not taking chances. FRIDAY reported a storm coming in so I don't know if the chopper will make it in time. We may have to drive it. Happy's on his way. We need to be clear when he gets here. They may send in heavy fire."

"The compound though-" Rhodey started sadly. 

Tony waved a hand, nodding, "I've locked down all that needs to be covered up. All the data is in a secure location. We can rebuild in less than a month if need be, the foundation will stand."

"Who are we even dealing with?" Sam asked. 

"FRIDAY cross checked them with a shadow terrorist group. They had big guns and one person who knew how to trick, not hack, the generator."

Sam nodded. 

"Ok, a squad should be arriving in 3 minutes down that hallway," Tony pointed. "Chopper will be here in 2. Let's get out and-"

_BOOM_

The room shook, the glass shattering into a million pieces and flying everywhere. Everyone was blown off their feet. 

Peter, being one of the lightest, flew so hard he hit the wall and slid down, crumpling. He groaned and grabbed his head, trying to see through his dizziness. His vision clouded and swam and he gasped for air, his hands bleeding from when he had tried to stop his fall. His arm had a massive cut in it and Peter avoided putting pressure on it as he stood up, immediately staggering back into the wall. 

The blast had come from the hallway, very far down because there still weren't people visible. They had hit right at the top of the arch that was above the exit. It had blown up, but there was still a section caving, one massive rock leaning against another section of ceiling, and between them, the only visible part of the exit. The bomb had blocked off the windows and all other ways out. 

_Crack_

Peter's ears heard it. He started sprinting. "Karen! How much time do I have?"

"14 seconds. Maybe less. It won't hold."

Peter swung himself forward, webbing the two sections of rock as they fell and sliding to catch the remaining one. He pushed up to his feet, screaming in pain from the weight, but he had successfully stopped their opening from closing. 

He winced at the weight, his arms already tired. His legs were shaking. 

"Tony!" He called weakly. "Tony!"

In a flash, the billionaire was at his side, trying to help him support the weight. 

"Everybody out!" Tony screamed, shielding Peter from the first couple shots that came through. They both knew who was holding up the majority of the ceiling's weight. Tons of rocks all piled on top of two slabs, and Peter was the only thing stopping it from hitting the ground. 

"It's- heavy-" Peter croaked, trying to adjust his footing but finding he couldn't. 

"Almost there buddy. A little longer, you're doing great," Tony encouraged him, pushing harder with the help of his repulsors, which took a little weight off of Peter's shoulders, literally.

Wanda then took her place next to them and flicked her hands upward, also helping hold up the section of concrete. She turned and nodded at Peter. 

Cap was the first to slide out, kicking the door off it's hinges. Sam and Rhodey followed, Natasha right behind them. Bucky ducked under and Vision waved for them to go, becoming interdimensional so that bullets could pass through him as he went to slow down the squadron. 

"Wanda, go," Tony demanded. 

After a second of hesitation she let go, and Peter winced, groaning as he was forced to take more weight.

"Let go kid, I've got it. Go," Tony said softly. 

"Not gonna happen," Peter shook his head violently. 

"Peter, now!" Tony yelled. 

"Get out of here Tony," Peter mumbled weakly. 

"You're gonna make me cut it close aren't you? Ok, fine. FRIDAY give me all you got with boosters. I'm getting you out of here."

"I'm fine-" Peter protested, his arms shaking as he started to sink to the floor. 

"Shut up Parker," Tony said, putting a hand on his arm tightly. "3 seconds FRIDAY."

"Three," Tony said. 

"Three," Peter agreed as he was tackled around the waist. They shot out like a bullet, the section caving in behind him as they tumbled to the ground, rolling to a stop after being tossed in different directions. 

"Told you," Tony grinned. 

There was a loud sound coming from behind the trees and just as everyone looked up, regaining their balance, the chopper broke the treeline. Peter whopped, ignoring his injuries and grinned at Tony. 

It set down and the team ran for it, climbing in one by one. Happy was in the front, grinning behind them. "We've got some backup for you. Nice day for a fly huh boys?"

About 20 armored cars came into the compound and 10 men jumped out of each and started advancing on the compound. 

"Happy, you're a lifesaver."

"Don't flatter me Tony. Raise would be nice though," Happy joked, lifting off once everyone was on. 

_"Sir, they've locked onto us,"_ FRIDAY said. 

Peter gripped the inner bar and looked outside, only to yelp and duck back in as a missile blew right by his face and exploded in front of them. 

"Hang on!" Happy groaned, pitching the copter down to avoid the blast before regaining altitude. 

Natasha grabbed Sam who fell to the ground only to get knocked down herself. Peter webbed both of their backs and pulled, saving them from falling out. 

"Thanks Pete," Nat said, hooking her arm around the seat's strap. Sam gave him a clap on the shoulder. 

"FRIDAY, give me something," Tony said urgently. 

"On it," she responded. Tony flew out the window and alongside the helicopter, the back of the suit releasing 20 triangles with blinking lights. They spiraled through the air in the direction of the bomb. 

"See?" Tony grinned, spinning as he flew parallel to the window, Wasn't so-"

Peter's hairs stood up. He peeked outside and saw the last ditch attempt, a spiraling object heading straight for Tony. Peter didn't know what else to do. He took a running leap out of the helicopter, webbing the massive missile, his weight pitching it downward. It exploded and Peter saw the shock wave ripple, slamming into him full force, almost knocking him unconscious. 

He fell into open air, limp and tumbling head over heels, hearing Tony's desperate scream from above. The world was spinning so fast. 

_"Sir behind-" _

The missile was sent off at an imaginable speed. Tony had just turned, bracing for the impact of the explosion and wondering if he was going to make it. Then a flash of red and blue leapt through the air in front of him and pitched downward. 

_THWAP_

A web was attached to the point of the missile and it tipped downward as well, exploding under him, sending Peter hurtling even faster to the ground. 

"PETER!" Tony screamed, regaining his balance and immediately diving after the kid. 

_"The rate he's falling, he cannot open his parachute. The force would be devastating."_

"PETE!" Tony screamed again, firing his boosters as fast as they could go. 

"I'm- Tony!" Peter let out a strangled yell. 

No, no, no, no- 

He was too close to the ground. Oh God-

"FRIDAY! Detach suit! Now!" 

The suit peeled off of Tony and it dove for Peter faster, because of the lost weight and it made contact, wrapping around the kid right before it slammed into the ground.

"NO!" Tony yelled. 

The suit peeled off of Peter's broken body and caught him. He fired up his hand beams, stopping himself a foot from the ground and scrambling over, his helmet receeding as he knelt by his kid. 

Peter was unconscious, his body broken and limp on the ground. 

"Peter? Peter! FRIDAY, talk to me!" Tony screamed, cupping the back of Peter's head and almost sobbing at the touch of blood. He pulled the kid into his lap, crandling his small form. 

_"He's still breathing. Barely. I've alerted the medics. They'll be here in 2 minutes,"_ FRIDAY said quietly. 

"What's- status."

_"Not good boss,"_ FRIDAY said. 

"WHAT'S. THE. STATUS!" Tony screamed, brushing hair from Peter's face. 

_"Multiple broken bones, serious concussion, internal bleeding, fractures-"_

"Peter! Peter, you have to wake up buddy. I'm here. I need you to open your eyes buddy, come on. Please."

Tony hugged Peter tighter against him, cupping his cheek and putting pressure on his bleeding head. 

The copter had set down a while ago and the team was sprinting toward him. 

Natasha gasped as she stopped by his side, her hand covering her mouth, tears in her eyes. 

"Peter, please wake up. Stay with me kid ok? We're gonna get help. You're gonna be just fine. Just open your eyes kid, come on..."

Peter licked his lips, letting out a tiny cough. He blinked and immediately shut his eyes; it was too bright. He tried again and allowed his gaze to painfully adjust. Peter grimaced and breathed in, wincing at the sharp pain in his ribs. 

Ow.

There was a bandage around his entire waist and pressure on the back of his head too. Peter moved a finger and felt a scratchy blanket covering him. His nose scrunched up at the feel of it. His mouth was dry and he couldn't move his right leg. It felt like there was a cast on it. His lip was swollen too, which was just downright annoying. 

There was a small noise and the door opened. Nat walked in and sat down on the chair in the corner without even glancing at him. Peter tried to smile but it hurt his lip. He waited a good 3 minutes before he finally croaked out, "How long do I have to wait here for someone to notice I'm awake?"

Natasha's gaze snapped up and a look of relief came over her face. "Peter!" She jumped to her feet and walked over to his side, cupping his cheek. "Hey kid, hey easy-" she set him back down as he tried to sit up. "You took a pretty big fall. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I jumped out of the helicopter," Peter said vaguely. 

"Right you did," Natasha pursed her lips.

"How long have I been out?" Peter mumbled, wincing as he swallowed because of the pain in his throat. His voice was scratchy and weak and Peter hated it. 

"5 days," Natasha said grimly. 

Peter cussed and then recoiled, trying to laugh and then found it hurt too much. "Don't tell Tony."

Natasha grinned, "You just missed him. We convinced him to go to bed yesterday night. He didn't move from that chair for 4 days."

Peter's face fell and he looked down guiltily. 

Natasha rubbed his hand, "Hey. He cares about you. We all do. I'm glad you're up, but I know I'm not the person you want to see right now. I'll let your Aunt know at work. You want to call Tony?"

"Yeah, I'll manage with FRIDAY," Peter grinned softly. 

"Ok kid. Good to have you back," she patted his good leg, giving him a wink and then picked up her cell in the other room. 

"FRIDAY?" Peter croaked out as loud as he could. 

_"Save your voice Peter, I can hear you. I'm glad you're awake."_

"Thanks Fri," Peter grinned, trying to reposition himself, only having his side flare up in pain. "Call Tony for me, would ya?"

_"Connecting to lab."_

"_Hello_?" Tony's tired and annoyed voice echoes in the speakers and immediately half of Peter's pain fades away. A smile spread on his face from hearing Tony's voice again and he laughs. It still hurts but he does't care. 

"I mean I can go back to sleep?" he jokes. 

There's silence. 

_"Peter?"_ Tony whispers. 

"Yes. I need Room service. You need to get my better blankets. These will not do," Peter calls. 

_"Shut up kid. I'm coming ok? I'm coming. Stay there."_

"I can't move so yea," Peter grins. 

A minute later, meaning Tony sprinted from one end of the building to the other, he comes bursting in. He stops at the foot of Peter's bed. There are tears in his eyes. Peter's never see him cry.

Tony opens his mouth, smiling as he whispers happily, his voice breaking with emotion, "Parker..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you know I am HORRIBLE at endings butttt this concludes the end of the story I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave comments kudos- lmk what you think and PLEASE if you have recssss for me to write I am all ears <3 those are the best!  
Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed and I am so sorry I got slow with posting- thank you so much for sticking with this and supporting it rly means a lot. I will defintaly write some more fics so please subscribe so you can get teh notifications when I do and I am going to wrap this up because I sound like a freaking youtube channel. Anyway,  
I love you all 3000 thank you again so much <3


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